With the way the last week and a half went, we could get away with a bad series and that’s what happened here. The Cardinals rolled into the nation’s capital and rolled out with two losses.
On Monday, the Cardinals didn’t get their first hit until the ninth inning. Ramon Ortiz took a no hitter into the ninth in tough loss for Jason Marquis. He gave up only two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. The only Cardinals’ run came when Albert Pujols hit a solo shot in that ninth inning. It was homerun number 43 for Pujols.
Jeff Suppan returned the favor yesterday. He and two relievers combined for a five hit shutout. It was Suppan’s eleventh win of the season. Pujols hit homerun number 44 and Yadier Molina had two hits and an RBI in the 2-0 win.
Today’s game was tough to take. The Cardinals took a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning on Preston Wilson’s two run shot but in the bottom of the ninth, Jason Isringhausen walked two and gave up a two run single to Jose Vidro in a blown game. Scott Spiezio homered and drove in three runs in the 7-6 loss.
The Reds lost again, the Cards still have a 6 1/2 game lead. Next up is four against the Diamondbacks.
