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!

Wainwright Pitches Gem to Lead Cards Past Astros 1-0, Cubs are "Toast"

Adam Wainwright (16-7) pitched 8 shutout innings and Albert Pujols' RBI double in the first inning off Wandy Rodriguez was all the Cardinals needed to make a 1-0 lead stick against the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium on Tuesday.

Wainwright, now tied with CC Sabathia of the Yankees for the major league lead in wins, went eight innings, gave up no runs on 3 hits, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. Wainwright was just plain nasty and continues to dominate opponents on the mound.

His counterpart on the mound Wandy Rodriguez (12-8) was a hard luck loser, giving up only 1 run over 7 innings. Rodriguez also only gave up 3 hits, with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. The difference was that the Cardinals were able to tally a run on two hits in the first inning. The first was a single by Brendan Ryan, and then Albert Pujols doubled him in to make it 1-0 after one inning.

Ryan Franklin came in to pick up his 33rd save in the ninth inning. His ERA continues to be very impressive at 1.09. Wainwright's ERA improved to 2.50.

The Cardinals, who improved their record to 73-54, a season best 19 games over .500, gained a game on the hapless Chicago Cubs (62-61), and the Cardinals now lead the Cubs by 9 whole games. ESPN's Baseball Tonight crew dubbed the Cubs "toast" after last night's embarrasing 15-6 loss to the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

Astros vs. Cardinals Series Preview

The streaking St. Louis Cardinals (72-54) begin a nine game homestand when they take on the Houston Astros (61-63) who are 10 games behind but have won 4 out of their last five games and do not fear the Cardinals. Although the Astros are 4-5 against the Cardinals this season, the Astros swept the Cardinals a little over a month ago in Houston, and are 4-2 in their last six against the Cards.

The series will feature three great pitching matchups. On Tuesday, Wandy Rodriguez (12-7) will face Adam Wainwright (14-7). On Wednesday, Roy Oswalt (7-4) will face Joel Pineiro (12-9). On Thursday in the finale, the Astros will pitch Brian Moehler (8-9) against staff ace Chris Carpenter (14-3). The Cardinals have an opportunity to give both Wainwright and Carpenter their 15th wins of the season, which will most likely continue to tie them for the league lead.

The Cardinals need to win, because the Cubs have an opportunity to gain ground as they host the Washington Nationals for a three-game series.

August Schedule Sets Up Nicely for Big Month

August could be a big month for the Cardinals, as they face many teams who are out of the playoff race in their respective divisions.

This week the Cardinals face the Cincinnati Reds (48-62) and the San Diego Padres (47-66) at home for two three-game series. Then the Cards go to LA to face the Dodgers (67-45) for 3 and then visit San Diego for a four game set. Then the Cardinals return home to face Houston (55-56) and (oddly enough) the red-hot Washington Nationals (40-72), both for a three-game series.

They will only face one team with a winning record, the LA Dodgers, however, the Dodgers have stumbled as of late, having only gone 3-6 in August. The Dodgers currently are on a 3-game losing streak, having lost 3 straight to the Atlanta Braves.

Hopefully the Cardinals can take advantage of this easier stretch of games and pull away in the National League Central Division race.