Behind the fine pitching and hitting of Dan Durbak, the Red Hot Peppers downed the Cardinals 14-6 in Kingston on Friday night. Durbak pitched a complete game 4-hitter and went 4-for-4 at the plate. The 4-11 Peppers collected 16 hits in 40 at-bats to take their fourth win in their past six games. The Cards were missing a fair number of their regulars.
After the game, both teams tailgated in the parking lot, with hot dogs, homemade salads, watermelon, lemonade and good baseball chatter. A great way to end a game.
To say that the Cardinals lost because of numerous errors is a gross over-simplification and one that is unfair to the Peppers.
It is true that the Cardinals did not have a good game in the field. But everyone knows that there are three aspects to winning baseball: offense, defense and pitching. Let's compare the Peppers' and the Cardinals' performance in those areas.
The Peppers had 16 hits; many of them solid line drives. Most of those hits came in either the 3rd or 5th innings when most of their runs were scored. Give a hot hitting team a few freebies and they'll make you pay. The Cardinals mustered just 4 hits; none coming off of my bat.
The Peppers' defense was rock solid. Tom Japour made plays at 3B on everything from slow rollers to hot smashes. Howard Becker at 2B snared a line drive that killed a Cardinals' rally. Their 1B tandem of Maione and Wittig caught throws in the dirt, in the air and to the side of the base. The Cardinals didn't make those kind of plays.
The Cardinals' starter struggled with control and reliever, John Latorre threw five tough innings after pitching seven strong on Wednesday. It is fair to say that our busy schedule caught up to their arms. For the Peppers, Dan Durbak was smooth and consistent on the mound. A couple of walks here and there but otherwise had the Cardinals' batters (especially me) off balance all night.
I think it is more accurate to say that, on an off night for the Cardinals' defense, the Peppers beat us in every aspect of the game.
