It was nice to see the Cardinals again representing the ’82 team wearing the famous “Victory Blue” or “Baby Blue” uniforms, love them or hate them it was a cool touch. With the Reds and Pirates battling, the Cardinals really needed a sweep of the pitiful Brewers, and they did just that. The Cardinals (59-49) got the sweep of the Brewers winning 3-0 and  are now 7 games out of first and 4 out of second place in the NL Central, clawing their way back in to contention. 

Show me D-Money:

Daniel Descalso once again showed off why we love him, with a gritty RBI triple early on in the game to give the Cardinals the lead. Descalso has been one of the hottest hitters on the team in the last 15 games. His glove has been above average at short, third, and second with web gems galore, Descalso has become a key to the Cardinals success, he needs to be in the lineup somewhere! D-Money ended the game going 3-4 and had the first RBI of the game, and he raised his average to .250!

Shaky but effective: 

Lohse didn’t look so vintage tonight, his control was not nearly as dominant as usual and he was throwing way to many pitches per inning. Lohse still managed to pitch a good game throwing six scoreless innings for a quality start.  Kyle Lohse is having a stellar season and could be a dark horse for the Cy Young award, he is quietly putting up great numbers (12-2,  2.79 ERA, 86 K/27BB.)

El Captain:

Molina continued his season high nine game hit streak with a base hit in the sixth inning. He is on fire both defensively and offensively and is having his best season by far. I cannot praise Yadier Molina more than I already have, but fans of the site stay tuned because sometime soon we will be having a special article devoted all to our favorite catcher, Yadier Molina!

Release the Craigken:

Allen Craig continued his torrid pace with batting with runners in scoring position, driving in Daniel Descalso in the seventh inning to give the Cardinals an insurance run. Get used to this folks because I believe the Cardinals will make Allen Craig their full time first baseman for years to come, or maybe a corner outfielder when it is all said and done. Craig is a great hitter and run producer and he needs to be in the lineup. As much as it hurts me to say this, I would rather see Craig in there than Berkman, who is once again on the DL. Craig leads the NL with a .386 AVG with RISP, incredible!

7-8-9:

Tonight was the first of many I’m sure that we saw the Mujica-Boggs-Motte combination and it worked to perfection. This is the kind of move we needed, not a blockbuster but getting a guy to stabilize the seventh and send the game to the dominant Mitchell Boggs who increased his scoreless streak to 23 straight games and the closer Jason Motte. This bullpen is already a lot better, sure it may not be as dominant as Cincinnati, but it can still compete and help us lock down some crucial games down the stretch.

Back to back to back mistakes:

The Cardinals led off the eighth inning with three consecutive hits leading to runners on second and third with NO outs. Jon Jay came to bat and got contact, but the runners did not go. The next at bat, Descalso does the same thing, this time they do go, Freese is gunned out with ease at home. Then shortly after the Cardinals got caught in a double steal rundown attempt, and this time Molina was tagged out at home. Horrible inning for base running, just a small blemish on the overall good game.

Player of the Game:

I’m giving it to Daniel Descalso for his 3-4 performance and for driving in the first run of the game with a triple.

Conclusion:

This was a much needed sweep of those horrible Brewers. Just like in 1982 the Cardinals ended the series celebrating, and this one was important. Now the Cardinals will be facing the Giants in another crucial series. The Giants could very well be a wild card contender so the Cardinals need to at least win the series in order to gain more ground on the wild card.  It is still a long road a head but the Cardinals are looking hot and playing some good baseball again, with the bullpen issue seemingly resolved and the offense and pitching staying hot, this team should still make the post season.