CHRISTOPHER PANSINO – OVATHLETICS.COM
It should come as no surprise that a team perennially at the top of the NL Central beat the worst team in the major leagues. The Cardinals came into yesterdays 3.5 games back of the Reds for first place in the division. Dropping a single game against the worst team in baseball is not an option if they wish to catch the red hot Cincinnati team. Yet, somehow the 10-2 dismantling of the Pirates was unexpected.
From the very onset of the game the Pirates were in trouble. Starter Ross Ohlendorf was injured during the first inning with soreness in his right shoulder. Ohlendorf threw a total of eight pitches and faced only two batters before being replaced by Sean Gallagher.
Gallagher would come in a give up four runs in the first inning putting the Pirates in an early hole. Gallagher would pitch 4 1/3 innings before being replaced. In all Gallagher had a hand in a seven of the Cardinals ten runs, although he was only charged with five total (the other two were charged to Ohlendorf).
The Pirates posed little threat to the Cardinals scoring two runs in the game. Both runs came in the sixth inning off a Garrett Jones homer. The homer was Jones only hit of the night and his 18th homer this season.
And the bad part about tonight was that this was just game one of the series. And if that was not bad enough the Pirates meet the Cardinals for two more series before the end of the season.
The Pirates will continue the series with the Cardinals tomorrow.
