Cardinals' Jaime Garcia throws first complete game in 9-0 win over the San Francisco Giants
Jaime Garcia continued to make his case for the National League Rookie of the year with a complete game shutout against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
Garcia pitched the first complete game of his career giving up only three hits and no walks while striking out six to get the win as the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0 victory. He got a lot of help from another pair of rookies, outfielders Allen Craig (two hits including the second home run of his career with three RBIs) and Jon Jay (three hits and one RBI).
The young pitcher from Mexico could be an ace on many staffs with the performance that he has turned in thus far in 2010. His 2.42 ERA is the seventh best in the league, and the best among rookie starting pitchers that have started at least five games. A strong showing down the stretch could push his name to the top of the leader board for NL ROY honors.
Albert Pujols continued to make his case for a third straight NL MVP award as he attempts to become the first National League batter to win the elusive Triple Crown since another Cardinal, Joe Medwick, did so back in 1937. He currently leads the National League in RBIs with 89 and home runs with 32, but trails Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto in batting average by seven points (.316 to Votto’s .323).
The Cardinals first baseman had just one hit on the night, a single to left field that scored Brendan Ryan. After a so-so start to the season he has come on strong coming down the stretch, hitting .426 during the first 15 games in August with eight home runs and 16 RBIs.
With the win the Cardinals improved to 67-54 on the season and stayed three and a half games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central who beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Sunday. The Giants fell to six games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL West who beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3.
St. Louis starts a ten-day road trip against some of the worst teams in the league (Pittsburgh, Washington, and Houston) on Monday with the first game of a three game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kyle Lohse is scheduled to take the mound for the Cardinals against Ross Ohlendorf for the Pirates.
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