Late-Inning Longball Pops Corks In Colorado
An unsung hero of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jason LaRue, became a very sung hero on Saturday night with a home run that proved to be the game-winner.
Everyday catcher, Yadier Molina, had to leave the game after taking a ball off of his knee in the 4th-inning. Molina was diagnosed with a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day. Although, with the Cardinals clinching last night, don't expect to see him back too soon.
LaRue replaced Molina mid-inning and handled the job extremely well. LaRue isn't used to seeing much playing time, as Molina gets the bulk of the playing time, but has been very good for the Cardinals off the bench this season. He does the little things that go unrecognized such as, warming up the pitchers before the games, bullpen sessions, and gives maximum effort everyday.
The Cardinals plated three runs in the 1st-inning, and jumped on flame-thrower, Ubaldo Jimenez, quickly. Jimenez would settle in after the 1st-inning, where he would cruise until the 7th. The Rox managed to tie the game on a Brad Hawpe two-run bomb to left off of Adam Wainwright. Jimenez struck out seven in his outing, but couldn't strike out the first batter he would face in the 7th: Jason LaRue.
Jimenez had been coming at the Cardinals with an abundance of first-pitch fastballs throughout the course of the game, but to LaRue, he broke the mold. A fastball around 95 mph would've been the smartest idea to LaRue, a guy who hadn't swung the bat all night, and who has somewhat of a slow bat anyway.
A slider in the middle of the plate and down was sent packing to left, and found a new home over the wall. Undoubtedly, the offspeed pitch sped up the bat of LaRue, allowing him to take the 85 mph slider out of the yard.
The clutch blast from LaRue gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead which they would not relinquish.
Workhorse, Adam Wainwright, threw 130 pitches over 8-innings of work. Of the 130 pitches, 89 were strikes, which only had Wainwright issue one walk, which came in the 8th, while fanning 11.
Wainwright struck out the side in the 8th, leaving two runners on base.
Ryan Ludwick came on to pinch-hit in the top of the 9th after Brendan Ryan doubled to left with two down. Ludwick was hitting for Wainwright, who had 2-3 night with two doubles. Ludwick, however, would top both of those hits that Wainwright had, and powered a two-run shot to left. The blast gave Ludwick 92 RBIs and 22 homers on the season, and more importantly made the score 6-3.
Closer, Ryan Franklin, came on in the 9th-inning to shut the door. Franklin gave up a hit and walked a man before recording the last out of the game. Save number 38 was notched for Franklin and a division title for the Cardinals.
Wainwright improved to 19-8, with the Cardinals now sitting at 90-65 on the season.
Manager, Tony LaRussa, wanted to clinch the NL Central on the field rather than have the Cubs lose a game to give the title to the Cards. He went so far to say the Cardinals wouldn't celebrate until they won a game. The champagne was flowing in the clubhouse, where grown men celebrated with grins and smiles of young kids, which is the beauty of baseball.
LaRue's game-winning homer is easily the biggest hit of his career, and will stick with him for a long time to come.
Everyday catcher, Yadier Molina, had to leave the game after taking a ball off of his knee in the 4th-inning. Molina was diagnosed with a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day. Although, with the Cardinals clinching last night, don't expect to see him back too soon.
LaRue replaced Molina mid-inning and handled the job extremely well. LaRue isn't used to seeing much playing time, as Molina gets the bulk of the playing time, but has been very good for the Cardinals off the bench this season. He does the little things that go unrecognized such as, warming up the pitchers before the games, bullpen sessions, and gives maximum effort everyday.
The Cardinals plated three runs in the 1st-inning, and jumped on flame-thrower, Ubaldo Jimenez, quickly. Jimenez would settle in after the 1st-inning, where he would cruise until the 7th. The Rox managed to tie the game on a Brad Hawpe two-run bomb to left off of Adam Wainwright. Jimenez struck out seven in his outing, but couldn't strike out the first batter he would face in the 7th: Jason LaRue.
Jimenez had been coming at the Cardinals with an abundance of first-pitch fastballs throughout the course of the game, but to LaRue, he broke the mold. A fastball around 95 mph would've been the smartest idea to LaRue, a guy who hadn't swung the bat all night, and who has somewhat of a slow bat anyway.
A slider in the middle of the plate and down was sent packing to left, and found a new home over the wall. Undoubtedly, the offspeed pitch sped up the bat of LaRue, allowing him to take the 85 mph slider out of the yard.
The clutch blast from LaRue gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead which they would not relinquish.
Workhorse, Adam Wainwright, threw 130 pitches over 8-innings of work. Of the 130 pitches, 89 were strikes, which only had Wainwright issue one walk, which came in the 8th, while fanning 11.
Wainwright struck out the side in the 8th, leaving two runners on base.
Ryan Ludwick came on to pinch-hit in the top of the 9th after Brendan Ryan doubled to left with two down. Ludwick was hitting for Wainwright, who had 2-3 night with two doubles. Ludwick, however, would top both of those hits that Wainwright had, and powered a two-run shot to left. The blast gave Ludwick 92 RBIs and 22 homers on the season, and more importantly made the score 6-3.
Closer, Ryan Franklin, came on in the 9th-inning to shut the door. Franklin gave up a hit and walked a man before recording the last out of the game. Save number 38 was notched for Franklin and a division title for the Cardinals.
Wainwright improved to 19-8, with the Cardinals now sitting at 90-65 on the season.
Manager, Tony LaRussa, wanted to clinch the NL Central on the field rather than have the Cubs lose a game to give the title to the Cards. He went so far to say the Cardinals wouldn't celebrate until they won a game. The champagne was flowing in the clubhouse, where grown men celebrated with grins and smiles of young kids, which is the beauty of baseball.
LaRue's game-winning homer is easily the biggest hit of his career, and will stick with him for a long time to come.
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