After a raucous four run first inning from the Cards that provided Joe Kelly with a cushion to begin the second(head over to Aaron Miles Fastball for that recap), The Dodgers come to the plate in the top of the second inning.
Due up for the Dodgers-Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Van Slyke and Juan Uribe.
Joe Kelly threw 14 pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning and fires in a first pitch strike with a 93 mph fastball to Gonzalez. Adrian swings at the second pitch and fouls it to Matt Adams. Gonzo has a slow silky smooth swing and doesn’t get fooled often. Kelly is going to pepper him with sinkers but utilize the four seam fastball as well. Kelly’s best characteristic is mound work ethic. He works quick. He doesn’t need extra time to think. He gets the ball and throws it. On the 1-2 pitch, Gonzo takes an elevated fastball to left field for a single.
Scott Van Slyke steps up and takes a ball. Kelly is facing Andy’s son for the first time since the two engaged in a Game 6 faceoff outside their dugouts. Kelly and Van Slyke stood outside their respective dugouts as the National Anthem wrapped up and neither exited the field. The umpire finally made them move and Kelly moved first, thus giving the duel victory to the Dodger. One of Kelly’s little quirks is being the last guy off the field so I am sure he felt a little defeated. Michael Wacha outpitched Clayton Kershaw and won the game but this counts as the unofficial rematch. Kelly gets the count even at 2-2 with a foul tip off the hitter’s foot. Kelly strikes out Van Slyke on a changeup and there is one out.
Juan Uribe steps to the plate and takes a first pitch curve for a ball. Uribe swings like there is no tomorrow so he is looking fastball when he steps to the plate. Uribe rips a 1-1 pitch laser right off Matt Carpenter’s glove and there are two on and only one out. Carpenter is charged with his 9th error on the play.
Whenever I look at Kelly, I think of Charlie Sheen’s Rick Vaughn in Major League. The glasses and mound demeanor do it, even though Kelly hasn’t done any jail time like Rick did before his stint with the Cleveland Indians.
A.J. Ellis steps to the plate and gets ahead in the count 2-1 before Kelly evens it up on a fastball fouled off to the right. On the next pitch, Ellis grounds to Jhonny Peralta and tosses it to Kolten Wong for a pretty looking double play to end the inning. Kelly gets his second double play ball and reminds people when he is at his best, he can escape danger with a sinker at any time.
The half inning comes to an end with no runs, one hit, one error and one runner left on base.
The Cardinals have Joe Kelly, Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong coming to the plate.
Joe Kelly is an athletic if goofy looking hitter and baserunner. He is nearly too quick for his feet and has hurt himself more than once on the bases. He grounds to the short and jogs to first base. The team has advised him to take it easy down the base line. He is too fast for his own club.
Matt Carpenter steps to the plate and takes strike one and fouls the second pitch. Carpenter, like Yadier Molina, gets behind 0-2 a lot and acts like he prefers it that way. He went from 0-2 to a walk in the first inning and started a four run rally. Carpenter hasn’t been as lethal at the plate in 2014 but has still provided solid leadoff stats. He leads the team in hits, on base percentage and walks. Carpenter grounds a ball with a Sunday hop to Gonzalez at first and is retired on the play.
Wong is up and Greinke balks on the first play. No runner is on the bases but Zach doesn’t look right so far. Awkward and out of it. He fires strike one in before missing with an inside fastball. Wong fouls a ball off the top of his bat and barely avoid getting it in the face. Scary moment. Wong, like Holliday, likes to lift that front leg up as if it were a sledgehammer as the pitch comes in. He swings and misses on a nice breaking pitch down and away. Strikeout.
Inning over. The Cards are retired in order after sending eight runners to the plate in the first inning.
The Cards lead 4-0 heading into the third inning, and you can find that recap at I70 Baseball from Matt Whitener.
Thanks for reading folks and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
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