Could there have been a more disappointing loss for the Cardinals than what happened to them on Thursday night? They got an absolute gem from Adam Wainwright and an early lead from Matt Holliday only to see it all go up in flames in the most disheartening of ways. The Dodgers were losing by a run and down to their final strike when James Loney hit a liner into left and Matt Holliday made an error that won’t soon be forgotten by Cardinals fans. St. Louis is saying Holliday lost the ball in the sea of towels the fans were waving and that’s why he missed it. Let’s see, white ball, white towels — I could easily see that happening. Holliday says he lost it in the lights which is just as easily possible. Either way, that gaff led to the unraveling of Ryan Franklin who then gave up a walk, hit, wild pitch, walk, and game-winning hit to make it 3-2 and 2-0 in favor of the Dodgers.
Now the only thing I will pick on Holliday for is saying that the ball hit him in the stomach. Come on, Matt, this replay will be shown over and over — we all know where it hit you. Just own it. Holliday’s a good enough player — an MVP-type player — where this won’t define him. His bat gave them the lead and his play helped the Cardinals get to where they are. Let’s not forget that Franklin still had to allow four straight batters to reach base for them to lose. Down 2-0 doesn’t mean the Cards are done — as Albert Pujols said, if they can win 11 in a row, why can’t they win three straight?
Photo Credit: St. Louis Post Dispatch
