PREGAME:
Bright and early headed out of KC at 6:30 in a heavy rain. Like a champ Dave drove the distance to St. Louis as I wrote up the day 3 recap. Out ran the storm about an hour outside St. Louis. Made a quick pitstop at McDonald’s to upload photos and post the recap before entering the city. Found a parking ramp with $10 parking for the game, the girls collecting the money seemed a little sketchy (think snoop from the wire).
GAME
For our first outfield game we arrived in time to watch Atros hit batting practice. The clouds creep closer as the game approached but burnt off just before hitting us. So instead of clouds and rain, received a good dose of blistering sun. A pitching dual between Carpenter and Norris, Carpenter blinked first in the top of third when Berkman hit single in the gap create by the shortstop holding the runner on second. Carlos Lee initiated a bench clearing but end with just a lot of posturing. The pause in the action did little to help Carpenter as Pence cleared the bases with home run to left center, giving the Astros a 4 – 0 nothing lead. The game continued at a rapid pace, only lasting two hours and 18 minutes. The Cardinals got a on the board in the seventh when Pujols was able to advance on a pass ball and Holliday knocked him in with a single to center field. In the 8th Cards tried to get things going again but after John Jay, pinch hitting for Carpenter, put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Molina and Greene, Shumaker hit into a double play. Berkman tagged first and then threw out Molina at home. That was the last best hope for the Cardinals and they lost with a final of 4 -1.
POST GAME
With the early end of the game walked around the stadium taking pictures as a high school game started. Leaving the parking garage either the garage got scammed or had some incompetent workers because we didn’t have card. When we told the attendant she lets go but was quite upset and said something to other attendant like “how many is that now 17?” Drove to Evansville, IN after the game as a halfway point in between St. Louis and Cincinnati. The Marriott looks like something stuck in the early 80s.
