2nd come from behind win against Florida

Last night's game was so great. The Cardinals continue to play hard, old-fashioned, scrappy baseball like they've done ever since I can remember. Even though i don't think it's a good habit to continue to fall behind in order to get a come-from-behind win, that's two in a row now that the Cards have done just that. And to be honest, they do feel pretty good. Really, as long as it doesn't happen every game, it can be a good thing. It's a testament to a team that doesn't give up, who plays a hard 9 ever game and expects good things to happen no matter who is at the plate or who is pitching. Everyone particpates. Everyone makes things happen.

Last night a lot of guys made things happen. It's getting to the point that it's hard to even know who to pinpoint as being the key to the game.  So I figured I would just take it by category.

Offense

Several guys contributed here. 

• Albert Pujols´ hit was the spark plug that started it all.  It was his 5th straight home run per game.  He continues his torrid hitting during this important stretch run of the season.
• Molina is a completely different hitter this season.  Last year he hit .216 for the whole season with only 4 home runs. Then in the postseason, he turned it up, getting better with each series.  He ended up hitting .412 in the World Series against Detroit.  Overall, he hit .358 for the whole postseason, with 6 extra·base hits, including 2 home runs.  One of those home runs, of course, was the game winner that sent us to the Series in the first place.  This year he´s right back there, hitting .282 and already has four home runs, including his first multi·homer game.  Last night he not only hit 4th home run of the season, he hit the double that tied it up.  Very clutch.
• Jimmy Edmonds.  What can you say about him?  It seems like he´s either striking out or hitting a home run.  But he has come up at some very big points in his tenure with the Cardinals.  And tonight was yet again one of those times.  He came in as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning, and corked a ball deep to the outfield stands for the eventual game·winning RBI.

Defense

• Ryan Ludwick made a really nice catch against the wall in left.  Last year we had Duncan out there, who couldn´t catch a fly ball in a bathtub and now we have this amazing surplus of outfieldes.  First Ducan´s fielding has improved a ton.  He still doesn´t look the most graceful, but he catches almost everything he can get to now.  Then you have Ankiel´s arm, which he has already showcased quite a bit.  And then Ludwick.  All viable options.  You add that to Encarnacion, Edmonds, Taguchi and other guys in the system like Rodriguez or Schumaker and we´re sitting pretty well.  Someone´s likely to get traded next season, if not before the deadline.
• Ryan Franklin did something unusual.  He gave up runs.  That doesn´t happen very often and his 2.01 ERA proves it.  But he didn´t let it get out of hand.  He picked a guy off of first and got out of the inning.

Pitching

• A lot of people mocked the Braden Looper idea.  They said he was a lousy reliever and would make an even worse starter.  Yet, Looper has been one of the main staples of our rotation.  When other guys have been hurt long·term or have been out of sync for awhile, Looper has come through.  He´s one of two Cardinals with 10 or more wins and last night he provided another solid effort.  He went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, striking out 5 and walking none.
• Izzy continues to be as good as he´s ever been.  He´s bounced back better than I could have ever hoped from surgery and last night he got his 25th save of the season.  He´s 4·0, with a 1.56 ERA and has only blown 2 saves all season.  This year when Izzy gets on the mound, I trust him, unlike last year when I would just cringe with fear.

So, with all that combined, it provided us with our 3rd win a row and a guarantee of a series win in Florida.  The Brewers lost, so we now sit a mere 2 games behind them.  However, those pesky Cubs won yet again, so that kept us at 3 back from first. place.

Tonight, however is a different story.  The Giants already beat the Cubs, so this is a huge chance to gain some ground.  All we need is a W for the series sweep and to only be back 2 games in the standings.  We´re counting on Anthony Reyes to make it happen for us.

Fish sweep,

Tiffany