I'm really behind on posting because I've just been busy. Expect some sluggishness for the next week and a half because I really need to focus on final exams. There isn't a whole lot to say about these last two games anyway, so I'll put them into one post, starting with the most recent.

Game #24

CARDINALS 6, REDS 3

Kyle Lohse needed a game like this. Badly. It's clear who the black sheep is in the rotation. With the other four starters having razor sharp starts to their seasons, Lohse has been the outcast. I'm not saying he's been bad, but he'd clearly been far from the level of pitching we've seen from his fellow starters. Yesterday, at least for the day that is, he was one of them.

Lohse went seven strong innings yesterday, allowed one run on five hits, walked no one and struck out eight. This start was nothing short of the caliber of performances we see from Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Lohse was not only improved; he was not only good. He was masterful. The unfortunate part, however, is that he was not rewarded with his first win of 2010.

The bullpen blew it in the eighth inning, where Blake Hawksworth and Dennys Reyes allowed a two-run STL lead evaporate. Ryan Franklin had to bail them out, getting the last out in the eighth and then getting the save after the Cardinals scored three in the bottom of the eighth to go back on top. Franklin ended up getting the win. I guess you can say he deserves it. Today, Franklin gave the impression that he is the leader of this bullpen. Obviously, the closer is supposed to be the best of your relief pitchers. And Franklin showed that he can take control and have the backs of his peers in times like these.

The Cardinals will go for the series win today.

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Game #23

REDS 3, CARDINALS 2

I was at this game. Everybody has to experience a dragger like this one at some point. I've been through something like this, actually, in New York when the Cardinals played the Yankees in interleague play in the 2003 season. The Cardinals got creamed in that game and Jason Giambi hit three home runs. The game on Friday night was not quite that bad though.

The Cardinals and Reds played five and a half innings before the inevitable storm hit downtown St. Louis. Tornado warnings were in the area, so yeah, that game was not going to resume for a while. The delay lasted over three hours before they resumed play in the bottom of the sixth, with the Cardinals trailing and eventually going on to lose 3-2.

Brad Penny struggled, giving up eight hits and walking five, but he was able to get through six innings with a minimal damage of three runs. Penny was credited with his first loss of the season.

As far as pure game action, the positive highlight for me was Matt Holliday finally coming through in a clutch situation. In the bottom of the third, Holliday had a bases loaded opportunity with two men out, and he delivered the first blow of the game with a line drive base hit to left to score the only two Cardinal runs in the game. Holliday had been, and still is, near the bottom of the list in hitting with runners in scoring position. He has the third worst batting average in baseball in those situations with a minimum of 25 plate appearances. But I feel like he will break out soon, and not just because of that hit. If you've been watching, you can tell that Holliday is hitting the ball very well. He's just not finding holes.

Boxscores courtesy of mlb.com.