Cardinals Rally Past Padres

Meanwhile…

– Adam Wainwright pitched eight strong innings to earn his 13th win, most in the National League and tied for most in the majors. The win puts him one away from the total he had last year, when he was returning from Tommy John surgery. Waino also leads the majors in innings pitched, complete games, and K/BB ratio. Clayton Kershaw is likely the front-runner for the Cy Young at this point, but it’s hard to imagine Wainwright’s too far behind him.

– With the win, the Cardinals are on pace for 100 wins. This would be just the ninth time in franchise history that this has happened.

– The Cardinals are off today before hosting Philadelphia. They better enjoy the off day as much as possible; after that, the team will have just four days off before the season wraps up September 29.

– Of course, the big series everyone’s anticipating starts next Monday, when the Cardinals travel to PNC Park to take on the Pirates for five games in four days. And, as luck would have it, it’s the final series before/during the trade deadline. The Cardinals will play the Pirates nine more times after this series, including six at home, so it’s not exactly a make-or-break point, but it could go a long way in establishing a bit of control over first place in the Central.

Cardinals Promote Yet Another Rookie

But this one was a little different.

He didn’t have the hype of Shelby Miller or Carlos Martinez.

He’s not expected to be a superstud like Oscar Taveras or Kolten Wong are.

All he’s done is play ten and a half season of minor league ball, just hoping for a call-up that finally came last week. The Minnesota Twins’ 49th-round pick in 2002 (keep in mind there are 50 rounds in the draft), Peterson made it as high as the AAA level in the Twins’ organization before he was released. He spent a season and a half with the Bridgeport Bluefish (who currently have former Cardinal Mike Parisi on their roster, as well as Hank Greenberg, who garnered attention last year with the story of his long journey back to the majors after just one disastrous plate appearance with the Cubs) before the Cardinals signed him to Memphis for some depth last year.

This year at Memphis he’s been their most valuable hitter, mashing 22 home runs while driving in 66 runs. With Matt Holliday on the disabled list, the Cardinals called him up, and he made his major league debut Saturday at the age of 29, driving in a run with a ground out.

Sure, it wasn’t the most romantic outcome imaginable, but for a baseball lifer who at various points has been one short step away from accomplishing his dream, I’m sure it’ll last a lifetime. Congratulations on the promotion, Brock.