Game #8

CARDINALS 2, ASTROS 1  (I'm starting to link the boxscores to these "score titles" for now on.)

So far so good for Ryan Franklin, as he pitched a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season.  And even though the Astros don't hit well, that doesn't mean you can disregard this save as a piece of cake for Franklin, as he had to face the only possible source of production in Houston's lineup right now, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence.  Franklin made quick work of the 'Stros with only six pitches in the ninth, and not one pitch was a ball.  It is certainly a long season, and I don't demand Ryan Franklin to emulate his 2009 dominance (though that, without saying, would be nice), but the more saves he notches out of the gate, the better.

Brad Penny pitched another outstanding game, and this time he has a win to show for it.  Seven innings pitched and one unearned run on three hits ranks right up there with Adam Wainwright's performance on Monday.

Again, so far, so good.  

The same goes for Dennys Reyes, who got the Cardinals out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth inning, continuing his impressive success on the young season.  However, Kyle McClellen was the one mostly responsible for that eighth inning scare.  So far, not so good for K-Mac.  What role he belongs in in this bullpen appears to remain a question mark.

To look at the big picture, however, I must say that those cries about the bullpen dragging the Cardinals' down can remain silent so far.  But as I said, it is a long season, so this doesn't mean the bullpen won't be a problem.  Specific roles have certainly not been discovered yet.

So, the Cardinals keep the Astros winless for another day, and Kyle Lohse will try to make them leave St. Louis winless.  It's amazing how long ago the days of the Killer B's seem.

Boxscore courtesy of mlb.com.