By Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch –
CHICAGO — Few pitchers are more familiar with the Cardinals — and the Cardinals with him — than Chicago Cubs short-arming lefthander Paul Maholm.
He has made all of his 205 career appearances for NL Central clubs. He has confronted the Cardinals 18 times, including three times this season.
(PHOTO: Chicago Cubs right fielder David DeJesus (9) is safe with a triple, as St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese (23) receives the ball in the first inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, July 29, 2012.)
Typically the Cardinals best him. Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field was not typical. Or maybe it was.
A game the Cardinals needed ended badly when rookie first baseman Anthony Rizzo cranked a 10th-inning, two-run home run off rookie righthander Trevor Rosenthal (0-1) to deal the visitors a 4-2 loss before 39,534 at Wrigley Field. They left town with the momentum of a 6-1 home stand replaced with a lost three-game series against a team that has ripped at their soul in this place.
“You can’t be playing well, come in here and lose to the Cubs. We can’t lose this series. But we did,” said left fielder Matt Holliday. “The only way to get better is to play better. We didn’t get the result here we were looking for.”
Rizzo’s home run ignited the Cubs’ fourth walk-off celebration in their last six wins over the Cardinals within The Friendly Confines.
Coupled with the Cincinnati Reds’ 10th consecutive win, Sunday’s loss left the Cardinals a season-most 7½ games off the division lead and 3½ games out of a wild-card berth.
“We had an opportunity to win this one but unfortunately they were able to pull it off,” said center fielder Carlos Beltran, whose eighth-inning home run off reliever Shawn Camp denied Maholm the win and gave the Cardinals a fleeting 2-2 tie. “What can I say? … I think we just need to find a way to put it together.”
The Cardinals (54-48) are one game away from concluding a month in which their pitching has led the major leagues in ERA yet they have lost four games in the standings to the Reds.
Beltran insisted he isn’t looking at standings. Others conceded the temptation is irresistible.
“I think we need to focus on playing ourselves,” Beltran said. “We have no control over what Cincinnati is going to do, or (second-place) Pittsburgh. We have to find a way to focus, play and win ballgames.”
“I’m the wrong guy,” manager Mike Matheny said when asked when he becomes fixated by standings. “We’ve got guys who rest on last year as a great example. To me, we keep playing the game. We’ve got all of August and all of September. If we didn’t have the horses to do something I’d like to think I’d still be positive. But there’s no question we do.”
A grinding six-inning start by Adam Wainwright and three shutout innings from the pre-Rosenthal bullpen weren’t enough to counter Maholm and four relievers.
Matheny called upon Rosenthal for the first time since July 23 to start the 10th inning rather than ask him to enter an inning in progress behind lefthander Brian Fuentes. Closer Jason Motte warmed but was given a second day off after working three consecutive games earlier in the week.
“I felt good out there. Everything felt normal. I just tried to be aggressive,” said Rosenthal, who mixed five strikes in his six-pitch appearance.
Maholm sported a career 4-7 record against the Cardinals and had taken heavy career damage from Beltran (.429), Allen Craig (.545), Yadier Molina (.313) and Rafael Furcal (.360) before Sunday. Shortstop and leadoff hitter Furcal missed a second straight start with back discomfort. The top four bats in the Cardinals lineup answered with a one-for-18 game that included 0-for-11 futility against Maholm.
After reaching Maholm for 10 runs in 10 innings by May 15, the Cardinals caught him at the wrong time Sunday. The no-decision left Maholm 5-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his last six starts.
For a second consecutive game the Cardinals went without a hit with runners in scoring position, leaving them 0 for 13 in those situations during two weekend losses.
The Cardinals fell to nine for 66 (.136) with runners in scoring position in their nine road games since the All-Star break.
“Last year we had every two-out hit you could imagine all year long,” recalled Wainwright. “This year they’re hard to come by.”
The Cardinals are hitting .228 with runners in scoring position this month compared to .292 without. They fell to 6-19 in one- and two-run games on the road this season. (They are 10-10 in such games at home.)
Matheny noted his team took just four at-bats with runners in scoring position Sunday, and only two before the seventh inning.
“Today wasn’t really about getting a fly ball there. We didn’t have guys all over the bases. Maholm kept us at bay,” Matheny said.
Still seeking their second five-game winning streak, the Cardinals have failed to convert outstanding pitching this month. The starting rotation has lasted at least six innings in 23 of 24 games and carries a 2.72 July ERA into the month’s final game Tuesday in Colorado. The bullpen has amassed a 2.14 ERA for the month. Rizzo’s home run ended the relievers’ streak of 19 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating to July 23.
“I think we’ve left something on the table in every period we’ve played so far,” Wainwright said. “But you’re talking about a team that knows how to win and knows how to get things done.”
“What’s frustrating is we’re a championship team — we know we’re a championship team — and we haven’t played like it,” said utility player Skip Schumaker. “We don’t lose this series if we’re playing like it.”
For the fourth time since June 12 Wainwright failed to receive a win in return for a quality start. Sunday’s degree of difficulty was stout.
Hardly offensive heavyweights, the Cubs scored six runs on 11 hits during the first inning of the three-game series. After reaching Lance Lynn for three first-inning runs on Friday and Joe Kelly for two on Saturday, they came after Wainwright with a triple, double and single to center field, left and right.
The Cubs took a first-inning lead after leadoff hitter David DeJesus tripled over Beltran and scored on shortstop Starlin Castro’s ground ball.
They pressed the lead to 2-0 with the assistance of some second-inning defensive problems. Second baseman Darwin Barney opened the rally with a double followed by a walk of No. 8 hitter Luis Valbuena.
Maholm bounced a ground ball to first baseman Matt Carpenter, who threw to second for the force out but was too far from the bag to take the relay.
Circling the play, second baseman Tyler Greene couldn’t handle shortstop Daniel Descalso’s throw. The ball glanced off Greene’s glove as Barney scored an earned but shoddy run from second base.
Wainwright’s consistency continues to expand as the season progresses. Even without command of his fastball, Sunday represented his seventh outing of two earned runs or less in his last nine starts. He has lasted at least six innings in 11 of his last 13 starts.
The Cardinals at least let Wainwright avoid a loss by scoring in the seventh and eighth innings. Again struggling to convert with runners in scoring position, they squeezed one run from a second-and-third, one-out opportunity in the seventh. Second baseman Tyler Greene scored third baseman David Freese with a line drive sacrifice fly. After consecutive walks loaded the bases to chase Maholm, right fielder Allen Craig flied out against reliever Manuel Corpas.
Down a run with five outs left, the Cardinals forced a tie when Beltran reached the left-field basket. The eighth-inning opposite-field drive broke Beltran’s 0-for-13 skid.
