Cards Capt a 20-6 August with a Win vs. the Nationals, Wainwright Earns 16th Win

The Cardinals continued their winning ways on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals. Adam Wainwright was effective but not spectacular as he gave up 3 hits and 3 walks but only one run over 6 innings. An Albert Pujols RBI single driving in Colby Rasmus in the sixth gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead, and the bullpen kept the lead the rest of the way to give Adam Wainwright (16-7) his MLB leading win total. Ryan Franklin came in in the eighth with two outs and recorded a four-out save, his 35th of the year.

The Cardinals, who improved their record to a season best 22 games over .500 at 77-55, completed a sweep of the Washington Nationals and are currently 5-1 on this homestand. The second place Cubs, who lost to the New York Mets today 4-1, now own a record of 65-63 and are 10 full games back of the Cardinals.

the Cardinals are off tomorrow, and finished the month of August with an amazing 20-6 record. The Chicago Cubs on the other hand, who play Houston on the last day of August tomorrow, have gone 11-16 in August (so far), so the Cardinals have gained 9.5 games on the Cubs just in August. At the beginning of the month, the Cardinals were in first place but only a half game ahead of the Cubs. In an amazing month, the Cardinals have basically put the Cubs away.

the Cardinals now have September to prepare for the playoffs and hope to earn the best record in the National League in order to secure home field advantage. The Cardinals trail the LA Dodgers by 1.5 games for the best record in the NL, and with an easy schedule, the Cardinals have a good chance of catching them. Go Cardinals!

Rasmus' Walk Off Homer Delivers Cardinals Sweep of Padres

Being from Columbus, Georgia, a lot of folks down here wondered how Colby would do in this, his rookie season with the Cardinals (he's from neighboring Phenix City, Alabama - yes, no "o" in Phenix by the way). Colby hasn't done half bad, has he?

More than having a .259 batting average with 12 home runs and 40 RBI's so far this season, Rasmus has delivered in big games and in big moments, and tonight was no different. The rookie outfielder came in with the game tied and one out in the ninth innning after Yadier Molina singled home Ryan Ludwick to tie the game at 5-5. Colby Rasmus then took Padres closer Heath Bell deep on a 0-1 curveball. Game over. Cards win. Cards sweep the Padres.

Rasmus is showing why the Skip Schumaker move to 2nd base was such a good idea. Even before the acquisition of Matt Holliday, the Cardinals had a good amount of outfield talent with Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker and former Cardinal Chris Duncan. The team needed room for Rasmus, so Schumaker went to 2nd base. Rasmus hasn't played every day, but he has shown why the move was a good one with home runs like he had tonight.

Cardinals fans should look forward to more of the same. Go Colby.

Wainwright First NL Pitcher to Reach 14 Wins, Cards Defeat Padres 9-2

Adam Wainwright, although not the ace of the Cardinals staff, is the first National League pitcher to reach 14 wins in 2009, and ties Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox as the only two pitchers to have 14 wins so far this season. The 6 foot 7 inch, 205 pounder from Brunswick, Georgia is becoming one of the most consistent starters in the National League and always gives the Cardinals a good chance of winning. In his fourth full season as a Cardinal, Wainwright is now a very impressive 41-23 in his career. Wainwright also has 1 win, 4 saves and a 0.00 ERA in 9 and 2/3 innings in the postseason, all coming in 2006 when the Cardinals won the World Series. So Wainwright can do it in the clutch as well, although those innings came as a reliever.

Tonight against the Padres, Wainwright (14-7) went 7 scoreless innings and got 3 strikeouts, while giving up 8 hits and no walks. Wainwright also got the only Cardinals home run of the evening, his second of the year, a solo shot off Padres starter Mat Latos (4-2).

The Cardinals scored early and often against Latos, who gave up 7 runs over just 4 innings. Colby Rasmus went 3 for 5 with a run scored, and Matt Holliday went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's to lead the Cardinals offense.

The second place Chicago Cubs put a whooping on the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates 17-2, so the Cardinals (65-52) still lead the Cubs (59-55) by 4.5 games.