Missed double play costs Cards

[flcardinal]

By Derrick Goold
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/24/2008

PITTSBURGH — Regardless of the quality of pitches Anthony Reyes threw to the plate late in Wednesday's game, his inning imploded when he couldn't throw a strike to second base.

In the game to preserve and protect a tie score, Reyes got the groundball that was his ticket out of trouble in the eighth inning. All he had to do was turn, rifle a throw to Aaron Miles and watch a routine double play erase Pittsburgh's potential go-ahead run.


Reyes whipped his throw too far ahead of Miles and straight to second baseman Adam Kennedy. Though Kennedy improvised in time to get Xavier Nady at first base, the botched double play allowed Ryan Doumit to reach second. Doumit scored the go-ahead run on Jose Bautista's loop single to right field as Pittsburgh rallied to spin a 7-4 victory out of an early 0-4 deficit at PNC Park.

"We missed," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "That's a 1-6-3 double play. Two outs. Nobody on. We paid for it."

The loss was the Cardinals' fourth in five games, a span that includes their first — and now their second — two-game losing streaks of the season. Seven of the Cardinals' nine losses this season have come with three or fewer runs. Wednesday's flirted with being the Cardinals' third consecutive game decided by one run before Doug Mientkiewicz's pinch-hit, two-run single capped the eighth.

Close has to be comfortable for the Cardinals as only five of their 22 games so far this season have been decided by five or more runs. When the taut nature of their games was mentioned to closer Jason Isringhausen before Wednesday's game, he nodded.

"It's good that way," he said.

The Pirates halted a six-game losing streak with a victory Tuesday but seemed set on starting another loss in the first inning. The Cardinals fleeced starter Ian Snell for a four-run lead. Troy Glaus doubled in two runs. With the fourth hit of the inning, Kennedy singled in two more. But an unusual thing happened on the way to another pounding at PNC.

The Cardinals stopped pounding.

Snell's steady improvement bought the Pirates time to chip away at Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer. The righthander, still unbeaten this season, no-hit Pittsburgh through three innings. He allowed two in the fourth inning, including a sacrifice fly to Nady that made him the third National Leaguer to reach 20 RBIs this season.

In the fifth, former batting champ Freddy Sanchez roped a single. Jason Bay skied Wellemeyer's next pitch to left field. It plopped down one row deep in the bleachers for a two-run shot that tied the score. Bay's fourth home run of the season was the sixth allowed by Wellemeyer in 29 2/3 innings. He allowed seven in 63 2/3 innings as a Cardinal last season, and none in his final 20 2/3 innings of the year.

"It will even itself out," Wellemeyer said. "Obviously, I'm generating a little bit of their power. It will even itself out eventually, I'm sure."

As tight as many recent games have been for the Cardinals, the loss hinged on two throws — one to Albert Pujols and the one that was supposed to be to Miles.

In the sixth inning, the Cardinals put two runners on base and up came the bat that so often sinks the Pirates. Pujols entered the game with a .753 slugging percentage at PNC and was nine for 16 with four home runs against Snell. Pujols reached base — with two singles and a hit by pitch — in his first three plate appearances against Snell on Wednesday.

But not his fourth.

Instead of yielding to Pujols' power with a walk in the sixth, Snell battled back from a 2-0 count to get it full. He shook off Doumit's call for a fastball and went with a slider. Pujols popped up to Adam LaRoche, a few feet in front of the Cardinals' dugout.

"To tell the truth, I am so happy that I held him to just (two hits)," said Snell, who left like Wellemeyer after pitching six innings. "Dude usually kills me."

Relievers traded scoreless innings until the eighth, when Reyes (1-1) entered to start the inning. Doumit singled up the middle. Nady followed with a scalding grounder back to the mound. The righthander spun to his left and rifled a throw to the first infielder he saw. The throw had more hope than accuracy. Kennedy caught it several feet behind the base. Miles, the correct target, never had a chance.

The throw made sure the Cardinals didn't either.

With Doumit at second, LaRoche popped up for the second out of the inning, what could have been the final out. Reyes then bored an inside pitch to Bautista that the third baseman flared to right field to bring in the winning run.

"I turned around a little too quick and thought somebody would be there," Reyes said. "I was just hoping that it would get to him."

Said Miles: "The game is going so quick. He saw Kennedy, and (the throw) was just out of my reach. … Now you've got the winning run on second base instead of a double play."

dgoold@post-dispatch.com

[flcardinal]

PITTSBURGH -- The Cardinals squandered a four-run lead and wound up with a 7-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh snatched up the win on Jose Bautista's two-out run-scoring single off Cards reliever Anthony Reyes in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pinch-hitter Doug Mientkiewicz upped the lead to 7-4 with a two-run single to left.

Reyes was tagged with the loss, falling to 1-1 on the campaign. He might have escaped with no damage, had he not misfired on a possible double play ball that prolonged the eighth inning. After Ryan Doumit singled to open the frame, Xavier Nady hit a ground ball back to Reyes, who threw to the second baseman -- not the shortstop. That resulted in Doumit getting to second and Nady being thrown out at first.

"I left pitches up and they hit them," Reyes said. "On the throw to second -- I turned around too quick and I didn't see anybody there and I just threw it -- thinking they would be there. I'm supposed to know the guy I'm supposed to throw it to. Who knows? I tried to make some pitches, but I just got them up."

Cards manager Tony La Russa felt the gaffe really hurt.

"That's execution in this league, and we missed," La Russa said. "I think he had a 1-6-3 double play, and then it's two outs and nobody on. We paid for it."

Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer tossed six innings and surrendered four runs on seven hits. He recorded five strikeouts and got a no-decision.

Wellemeyer was disappointed that he could not hang on to the four-run lead he was given.

"I just got some pitches up and they put together some singles and a double and got a couple runs," Wellemeyer said. " [Jason] Bay hit a good ball and I tip my hat to him. I went out there and didn't have my best stuff and I went out there and played and battled and went six and gave us a chance to win."

"I thought he did a good job," La Russa said of Wellemeyer. "We just scored four and they stopped us the rest of the game and they got some runs and they had some good at bats -- give them credit."

The Cardinals jumped on Pirates starter Ian Snell for four runs in the first inning. Third baseman Troy Glaus delivered a two-run double and second baseman Adam Kennedy stroked a two-run single.

Snell, after a rocky start, pitched six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and received a no-decision.

"We made some contact and got some balls in the air," La Russa said. "He [Snell] is a good pitcher. He pitched well and we were trying. We just couldn't get it done."

Cardinals second baseman Kennedy thought Snell pitched well.

"He's got a great arm and he always throws well," Kennedy said. "We just happened to get a couple early [runs] and it would have been nice to keep it going, but he turned it around and threw the ball well."

The Pirates broke through against Wellemeyer in the bottom of the fourth inning. Three straight singles by Freddy Sanchez, Bay and Doumit plated Sanchez. Nady lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, driving in Bay and cutting the Cardinals lead to 4-2.

The Pirates tied the game at 4 when Bay launched a two-run homer to left field. It was Bay's fourth home run of the season.

Bucs lefty Damaso Marte picked up the win, pitching two innings in relief and upping his record to 1-0. Closer Matt Capps pitched a scoreless ninth inning to rack up his sixth save.

The Cardinals have now dropped four of their last five games.

"The key is to make the streak small," Kennedy said. "It's not too bad right now. Tomorrow it would really be big to come out and get a win."

George Von Benko is a contributor to MLB.com.

[Migratory Redbird]

Another poor article by Goold.

Regardless of the quality of pitches Anthony Reyes threw to the plate late in Wednesday's game, his inning imploded when he couldn't throw a strike to second base.

In the game to preserve and protect a tie score, Reyes got the groundball that was his ticket out of trouble in the eighth inning. All he had to do was turn, rifle a throw to Aaron Miles and watch a routine double play erase Pittsburgh's potential go-ahead run.

Reyes did throw a perfect strike to the bag. If Miles had the responsibility to cover 2nd, he should have been there in time to catch it, given that the Cards were expecting the sacrifice bunt. If Miles was playing too far away from 2nd to get there in time, then it should have been Kennedy's responsibility. We saw that Kennedy was able to reach the ball in time to catch it, but he was playing too deep to reach the bag before the runner.

The pitcher doesn't have time to double clutch after he fields the ball if he's going to get the ball to 2nd in time to make the double play. He has to turn and throw in one smooth motion, without needing to wait on his infielders to cover. Maybe there would have been time last night for him to double clutch and still get the runner at 2nd, but you can't count on it with that kind of play; it's difficult enough to turn the DP on a sac bunt anyhow.

[daniducci]

I agree, I saw nothing wrong with Reyes on that play. He did exactly what he was supposed to. Throw to the bag to lead the fielder. If Miles was supposed to cover, he failed. It actually looked to me like Kennedy was supposed to cover, but moved to field the ball (putting him behind second base) instead of going directly to second base, and then confusion reigned between him and Miles. In every way possible, it looked like a middle infielder gaffe, and Reyes may have avoided throwing the ball away by throwing it right to the bag instead of double clutching or adjusting his aim at the last moment.

But that didn't lose the game. An offense that absolutely quit after pounding 4 runs in the first inning lost the game. A starting pitcher who only got something like 2 groundballs in 27 batters lost the game (after two innings of nothing but flyballs I was certain Wellemeyer was going to get hit hard at some point). Heck, if you're willing to point to a single play, how about the fact that Duncan refuses to run to the ball before trying to catch it, baby stepping the whole way so he can only catch the ball if he stretches for it, making it impossible for him to catch Jason Bay's homerun despite being tall enough to have reached a foot higher than the homerun standing flatfooted?

[so_cal_cards_fan]

Migs, it was NOT a sac bunt! He was hitting away, and it was a rocket to the pitcher's glove. That is very easy to see from the position of the batter, AFTER Reyes has already fielded the ball and turned and cranked his arm to throw, even if you can't view the replay.

On a rocket to the mound, the pitcher has to lead the fielder, not fire indescriminately in a panicky moment.

Miles is playing SS where he is positioned by the coach. Even with a mild shift on, he can still have responsibility to cover second, and he normally would given the possibility that Pujols has to come forward for a potential bunt with 0 outs in a tie ballgame, and a runner on 1st.

Pack:I don't think Miles pulled up at all. He is covering as much ground between picture frames as the runner going at full speed from 1st base, and much more ground than the batter coming out of the box.

[Beergut]

The sooner Ryan can man short, the better.

[STL FANATIC]

I didn't see the play live, and frankly, I don't care to.

But it looks to me like Adam Kennedy should have time to catch that ball and step on second.

Am I wrong?

[so_cal_cards_fan]

Originally Posted by Beergut

The sooner Ryan can man short, the better.

"He was the logical guy to call up," Cards manager Tony La Russa explained. "He played very well for us last year. I talked to Ryan and he says he is feeling 100 percent healthy and he'll play on Thursday."

[/B]

[Migratory Redbird]

Originally Posted by so_cal_cards_fan

Migs, it was NOT a sac bunt! He was hitting away, and it was a rocket to the pitcher's glove. That is very easy to see from the position of the batter, AFTER Reyes has already fielded the ball and turned and cranked his arm to throw, even if you can't view the replay.

On a rocket to the mound, the pitcher has to lead the fielder, not fire indescriminately in a panicky moment.

If it wasn't a bunt play, and the DP initiated by the pitcher wasn't part of the defensive strategy, then I'll agree that Reyes had an obligation to confirm that 2nd base was covered before throwing there.

Originally Posted by so_cal_cards_fan

Miles is playing SS where he is positioned by the coach. Even with a mild shift on, he can still have responsibility to cover second, and he normally would given the possibility that Pujols has to come forward for a potential bunt with 0 outs in a tie ballgame, and a runner on 1st.

If Miles was further from the base than Kennedy, then I think the defensive strategy should have been for Kennedy to cover 2nd on any ground ball that he didn't have to field. However, Kennedy couldn't head for the bag until he knew the ball wasn't going to get past Reyes. Since the ball was hit on a vector that was in Kennedy's territory of responsibility, Miles should have been the one to cover 2nd.

[so_cal_cards_fan]

Originally Posted by Migratory Redbird

If it wasn't a bunt play, and the DP initiated by the pitcher wasn't part of the defensive strategy, then I'll agree that Reyes had an obligation to confirm that 2nd base was covered before throwing there.

Here is the ball coming off the bat. You can see batter fully extended.
http://stlouissportsforum.com/forums...1&d=1209076041

Originally Posted by Migratory Redbird

If Miles was further from the base than Kennedy, then I think the defensive strategy should have been for Kennedy to cover 2nd on any ground ball that he didn't have to field. However, Kennedy couldn't head for the bag until he knew the ball wasn't going to get past Reyes. Since the ball was hit on a vector that was in Kennedy's territory of responsibility, Miles should have been the one to cover 2nd.

I agree Miles has to cover. There should have been plenty of time for the throw if Reyes had waited as little as 0.3 seconds, or 2 yards for Miles. He is quotes as saying that the ball was just out of his reach.


Finally point. Kennedy's throw only beat the runner at first by a step, so if Reyes has to wait too long for Miles, there's no play at 1st.

[so_cal_cards_fan]

I put this in the game thread, post it again.

Reyes' throw for the potential DP.

1) TLR says Miles was covering.
2) Reyes turned, saw Kennedy (closer to the bag), and fired a bullet over the plate, about neck-high.
3) I guess you wonder why Reyes didn't wait longer, or didn't know who was covering, but wish Miles got there sooner.


Picture#1: Reyes has ball in hand, has fielded, and turned. Where is Reyes? Who looks like they are headed to the bag?
http://stlouissportsforum.com/forums...1&d=1209048405


Picture #2: Reyes throws a strike (ball is in front of 2nd base bag) over the plate.
http://stlouissportsforum.com/forums...1&d=1209048413

There was obviously plenty of time, if cooler heads had prevailed.

[pack04000]

Oh from the replay on TV it looked like miles pulled up. the ball was a perfect strike if miles won't have pulled up. I though it had nothing to do with Reyes and everythign with Miles not running thru the bag. Myabe i'm wrong and didn't see it right.