Game # 19

CARDINALS 4, BRAVES 3

As I was watching the FSM postgame interview with Kyle Lohse, I heard a very fitting song in the background that demonstrates my theme for this post: "Don't Stop Believin'," by Journey.

Okay, so maybe it's a little cliche to reference that song in a post about resiliency. But you can't NOT do it when you hear the song in the Cardinals' locker. I can't pass up the opportunity. I'm a sucker for symbolistic irony.

The Cardinals showed some real guts and resiliency in their come-from-behind win against Atlanta in the first of four to open the home stand. The Cardinals played awful in the first few innings of the game. Lohse, who started for the Cardinals, was sluggish and laboring during the first four innings, allowing the Braves to take a quick 3-0 lead. At times, the fielding was shaky. And at the plate, the Cardinals could not push a run across for the life of them. Highlighted by a wasted golden scoring opportunity in the second inning, the Cardinals' struggles with timely hitting continued. They were 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position in this game.

But those two hits with RISP were the difference in the game. After the Cardinals pulled within one run with a Colby Rasmus home run, rookie backup catcher Brian Anderson tied the game with a pinch hit RBI single in the seventh. In the eighth, Yadier Molina doubled in Albert Pujols to put the Cardinals on top. Ryan Franklin held on for his seventh save in seven chances.

The Cardinals showed that even when they're down and playing really messy baseball, they won't give in. They play by Tony La Russa's motto: play a hard nine. This is something, I'll think, was missing last season. In '09, the Cardinals seemed to rely on taking early leads. If they didn't score early, they wouldn't score at all. This team is different. They fight until the end.

Boxscore courtesy of mlb.com.