Todd Wellemeyer shut down the Pirates down completely with a bit of help from Rick Ankiel in center and some inept Pittsburgh defense helped St.Louis to a 5-1 win at Busch Stadium.
Wellemeyer only allowed 2 hits over his seven + inning outing and with the exception of one pitch,was able to control the Pirates throughout.
The only chance that Pittsburgh had early was a shot off the bat of Adam LaRoche that appeared to be out the park and give the Bucs the early lead,but Rick Ankiel reached across his body and over the fence to snatch the ball back into the park with a spectacular catch.
The tremendous catch was enough to cancel any hope for Pittsburgh on this night.as the left side of the infield combined to misplay balls that should have been routine outs and gave the Cardinals opportunity after opportunity.
Lord only knows why some of the Bautista and Rivas mistakes were ruled hits and not errors,but regardless,those two were pretty responsible for most of the four runs that hard luck loser Paul Maholm (2-4) allowed in a performance that was actually better than his numbers indicate.
Why Luis Rivas continues to be run out to shortstop and Brian Bixler sits is something that I still don't understand.
Please do not get me wrong,I am not saying Bixler is an answer,just that if you were going to Rivas or Chris Gomez at short then the Bucs could called up Matt Kata to sit and Bixler could play everyday for Indianapolis.
Kata is bad as well,but no worse than what we have seen and makes more sense as a benchwarmer than Bixler.
Sean Burnett pitched a scoreless,but rocky seventh and Marino Salas allowed one run in the eighth.
Nate McLouth was the only Pirate to knock in a run on a bloop 8th inning single that likely should have been caught by St.Louis SS Cesar Izturis.
The Cardinal series ends tomorrow with an afternoon matinee at Busch before the Buccos move to Chicago for three afternoon games against the Cubs at Wrigley.
Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh:Ian Snell (2-2 4.53 ERA) at St.Louis:Joel Pineiro (2-2 4.05 ERA) 1:15
John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama last night in Michigan and helped Obama more than one would think of an endorsement at this late date.
The coveted Edwards endorsement comes at a good time for Obama after his huge,but meaningless loss (delegate wise) to Hillary Clinton in West Virginia.
This should take some of the media attention away from the West Virginia primary and onto the endorsement for a day or so and diluting any edge that Clinton could gain from her victory.
Now,here is hoping that Obama will select Edwards as his running mate.
Bullpen Notes
The Pirates placed Ryan Doumit on the disabled list after his fracturing his left thumb in Tuesday's game.
Doumit is expected to miss roughly a month and the Pirates called up veteran Raul Chavez from Indianapolis to replace him on the roster and backup Ronny Paulino.
The light hitting veteran will likely play little,so get ready for a heavy dose of "Joggin Ronny".
The Pirates also managed to keep Evan Meek in the organization by sending Tampa an undisclosed amount of cash and was then allowed to send Meek to the minors.
No word on whether his destination will be Indianapolis or Altoona.
The Cleveland Browns released veteran corner Kenny Wright.
This was an expected move after Wright's police problems in early April in his native Texas.
Wright plays a position of need for the Browns,but backups do not have the luxury of being able to get into trouble that makes the team look bad.
Photo Credits
Ankiel:Jeff Roberson-AP Photo
Edwards/Obama:Mark Wilson-Getty Images
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