News
Wainwright hits bump on road
Stavinoha's two-run double forges temporary lead in fifth
By Rick Eymer / Special to MLB.com
05/31/09 8:40 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- Adam Wainwright wasn't sure what he wanted to do on a pitch to Rich Aurilia in the seventh inning Sunday and it cost him a run and the game."My focus should have been on down and in," he said of his 1-2 delivery that wound up in the left-field bleachers during the Giants' 5-3 win over the Cardinals. "More than anything, my focus was in. It was one of those brain things when you look back at it. If that was supposed to be an out pitch, that was not the pitch to throw."
Despite the setback, St. Louis returns to Busch Stadium one game behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. After winning five of their first 15 games in May, the Cardinals rebounded to win eight of 12.
"The fact that enough guys stepped up kept us close when we were playing short," Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa said.
The Cardinals were involved in eight games that were decided by two runs or fewer in the last 15 games, including losing twice by 1-0 scores. They've scored seven runs or more three times since May 1. The Cardinals have scored a total of 18 runs over their last nine losses.
"You can't leave opportunities out there," Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan said. "We're not putting up eight runs a game. It would be nice if we could give our starters a break."
Aurilia's home run was the first allowed by St. Louis since May 18, breaking a 3-3 tie.
"I didn't feel out of whack out there," Wainwright said. "For whatever reason I was leaving a lot of balls over the plate, thigh-high pitches, and they made a lot of good swings today."
The top three batters, Ryan, Joe Thurston and Albert Pujols, combined for six hits in 11 at-bats, with three runs, a sacrifice, two walks and an on-base percentage of .692.
"They had a couple of key hits and we missed a couple of chances," La Russa said. "They did some things and it went their way."
Ryan Ludwick drove in one run with a sacrifice fly in the third that tied the score and Nick Stavinoha doubled home two runs that produced a 3-1 edge in the fifth. St. Louis was hitless in six other at-bats with runners in scoring position.
"I'm just trying to do my job and drive in runs," said Stavinoha, who delivered after the Giants issued an intentional walk to Pujols and an unintentional walk to Ludwick. "Those guys are outstanding hitters and if I were a pitcher and had the choice, I'd take my chances with me over them."
Pujols finished the series with three successive multi-hit games and pounded Giants pitching for a .636 (7-for-11) average. He hit a pair of home runs and hit the ball so hard several other times that he could only get to first base.
Wainwright (5-3) lasted seven innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits. He walked two and struck out three as his two-game winning streak ended with his first road loss.
Wainwright allowed more runs Sunday than he had combined (three) over his previous 23 2/3 innings. The 10 hits were nearly as many as the 12 he allowed over his past three starts.
"I was still searching at the end of April," Wainwright said. "I made a lot of good adjustments this month. Baseball cycles back around all the time. There are weeks when hitters crush the ball and the pitchers aren't doing their jobs and vice versa. You play great baseball doing both things at once."
Ryan has been able to adjust between hitting leadoff and batting ninth. He's hitting .316 at the top of the order.
"I'm a little more aggressive batting ninth," Ryan said. "Even if I'm picky, if I get something early I'm moving the bat. I'm going to be active and energetic and get on base any way I can."
Rick Eymer is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
