Kyle Lohse turned in another stellar start. He avoided allowing the walk and as a result, allowed just a single run over his 8 innings. It appears that he is healthy and back in form, which is a very important thing for this team if they intend on contending this season.
With Freese hopefully having broken out of his slow start, the Cardinals really need Albert Pujols to snap out of it and start providing the offense we all know he’s capable of. 0-for-5 won’t cut it. In fact, not many teams can be productive without their #3 hitter hitting. The Baseball Musing’s Lineup Analysis Tool gives the Cardinals A-lineup currently a 2.955 runs per game rating. With Pujols at his career averages, they rank at 3.750. That’s nearly 50% better, so how many more runs do we score?
Hero of the Game: Really a tossup for me between Freese and Lohse. Ultimately, I went with Freese as a reward for finally breaking out of it. (3-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Zero of the Game: The only Cardinals hitter to fail to get on base all day, Albert Pujols. (0-for-5, 1 K, 3 LOB)
