SB Nation St. Louis - Longest Pirates Vs. Cardinals Game Ever Ends In St. Louis Loss

Todd Akin Rape Scandal, Cardinals' Extra-Inning Loss Apparently Both Apocalypse Signs

2012-08-20T19:10:00Z

One of the weird side-effects of Twitter: People are vastly more likely to make rule-of-three style connections than they used to be, thanks mostly to the Trending Topics that aren't perpetually taken up by Eastern European countries begging for a One Direction concert. Specifically: a small batch of St. Louis Cardinals fans has connected the Cardinals' brutal extra-inning loss to the absurd Todd Akin rape statements to make Sunday one of the Worst Missouri Days Ever.

Some examples:

So, to recap, worst day in MO history. Cardinals lose 19 inning game with playoff implications, Royals get robbed of no hitter, Todd #Akin.
— Dan Forster (@leggomystego) August 20, 2012

Between the @cardinals loss and Rep. Todd Akin, today has not been a banner day for St. Louis.
— Cake Walker (@LACakeWalk) August 20, 2012

The good news: People are less likely than you might expect, if you read those BuzzFeed collections of terrible tweets and are thus gunshy about the whole enterprise, to say the Cardinals' loss is worse than Akin's comments.

The rest of them are pretty similar, but I have to say that—as tired of Todd Akin jokes as I am—I kind of like this, as a final joke on both topics:

I wonder if Rep. Todd Akin has empathy for the hundreds of fans who are still watching this Cardinals game.
— don bilson (@dkbilson) August 19, 2012

Cardinals Vs. Pirates: St. Louis Loses In 19 Innings

2012-08-20T00:50:46Z

The Pittsburgh Pirates needed 19 innings to win their longest-ever game with the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3, and keep pace in the NL Wild Card race.

Pedro Alvarez hit a solo home run in the 19th inning to put Pittsburgh up 4-3, and Andrew McCutchen put the Cards in a three-run hole with a two-run single later in the inning. It was the only time either team scored more than two runs in an inning on the day.

Strong pitching had kept the score low. St. Louis' Jaime Garcia allowed two unearned runs five hits in eight innings, striking out 10, and Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens had given up two runs in seven innings. But the teams' respective bullpens kept the game scoreless from the top of the seventh inning until the 17th inning.

Barret Browning's entrance in the 19th, though, spelled doom for the Cardinals.

For a 19-inning game, this was not an extraordinarily weird one: Jon Jay, who went 3-for-9, was the only player with more than two hits on the day. McCutchen had just two hits, but they produced three RBI, and he and Garret Jones both drove in runs with infield singles.

Perhaps most strangely, Adam Wainwright entered the game in the 18th inning for the Cardinals as a pinch hitter, and drew a walk.

The victory gives the Pirates the inside track on the second Wild Card spot in the NL. The San Francisco Giants trail Pittsburgh by one game, and the Cardinals are two games back after losing two of three to the Pirates this weekend.

For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Viva El Birdos. To find out more about the Pirates, head over to Bucs Dugout. And, for all of your MLB needs, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Pirates Contest Sunday The Longest Ever, Apparently

2012-08-20T00:42:12Z

Bad News: The St. Louis Cardinals lost the longest game they've ever played against the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday, falling 6-3 after Barret Browning allowed a Pedro Alvarez homer in the 19th inning. It keeps them just out of reach of that Wild Card spot, and further back of the Pirates and the Hated Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central.

Good News: The Pirates are still well within reach of the Cardinals, who just got an outstanding outing from Jaime Garcia, a starter they'll need down the stretch. (They also have an off-day.)

Bad News: The Cardinals lost the second-longest game in series history, too, which means they're Cursed Forever.

#Pirates and #Cardinals are playing their longest game against each other since Pittsburgh won 4-2 in 17 innings Aug. 2, 1982.
— STATS LLC (@STATS_MLB) August 19, 2012

Good News: The Cardinals lost that game in 1982, the only year the Whiteyball clubs won the World Series and one of the high points in Cardinals history. That's good!

Bad News: The toppings contain potassium benzoate. (That's bad.)

Cardinals vs. Pirates: Cards Are No Strangers To Extremely Long Games

2012-08-20T00:27:42Z

As the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates battle in the 19th inning of Sunday's series finale, Cards fans everywhere are likely thinking the same thing: "We've seen this before."

The Cardinals have played in three games that have gone 20 innings or more, with the most recent coming on April 17, 2010 vs. the New York Mets. The Cardinals lost that game, which went 6 hours and 53 minutes, and unless they can rally back from three runs down in the bottom half of the 19th, they will lose this one too.

Even if the Cardinals come back to tie, there would still be a long way to go before this game approaches the longest game in Cards' history. On Sep. 11, 1974, the Cardinals beat the Mets in a 25-inning marathon that lasted for over seven hours. The Cards had 99 plate appearances in that contest, and scored just four runs. Better than the Mets, at least, as they sent 105 batters to the plate and came away with only three.

For more on the Cardinals, be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Additional Pirates coverage can be found at Bucs Dugout, while Baseball Nation is the place for all things MLB.

Pedro Alvarez Ends The St. Louis Cardinals' Endless Game, Survives On Their Largesse

2012-08-20T00:26:05Z

In case you were wondering about Pedro Alvarez's performance this year against the St. Louis Cardinals—after he hit a 19th-inning homer off Barret Browning, thereby cementing his position as a 2012 arch-nemesis and ending the Cardinals' endless game—I paid Baseball-Reference a visit: He's hitting .333 against the Cardinals. with a slugging percentage of .644 on four home runs and 16 RBI.

Against the rest of baseball, he's hitting .218 with 18 home runs, 46 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .442.

This is the terrible reality of the situation: If it weren't for how well Pedro Alvarez has hit against the St. Louis Cardinals, he probably wouldn't have had his job Sunday, when he sank the St. Louis Cardinals. The reigning world champions are the only thing keeping Pedro Alvarez from being declared, completely and finally, a bust. They're the reason he has an OPS of nearly .900 against teams over .500 and an OPS of .652 against teams under .500.

If this is some kind of long-troll attempt, on the Cardinals' part, to have the Pirates continue to carry a defensively deficient strikeout machine at third base, now is the time to stand down: We've won, such as it is.

Cardinals Vs. Pirates: Scoreless 18th Forces Game To 19th Inning

2012-08-20T00:12:42Z

History is beckoning the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, now entering the 19th inning of a Sunday rubber match. But there's no winner in sight, with the teams still tied at 3-3 after 54 up and 54 down.

Both teams scored in the 17th inning, but could got make a dent in the scoreboard in the 18th. Jordy Mercer perished on the basepaths after a two-out double for the Pirates, while Carlos Beltran's single and pinch hitter Adam Wainwright's walk couldn't get the Cardinals any runs.

A combined 15 pitchers have been used in the game, seven by the Cardinals and eight by the Pirates. St. Louis has just one extra-base hit in the game, a two-run double way back in the fourth inning.

For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Viva El Birdos. To find out more about the Pirates, head over to Bucs Dugout. And, for all of your MLB needs, visit Baseball Nation.

Joe Kelly The Reliever Looks Familiar, Thanks To The Cardinals' Extra-Innings Extravaganza

2012-08-20T00:04:23Z

The St. Louis Cardinals disappointed the members of the burgeoning Joe Kelly fanclub over the weekend, when they shuttled the rookie starter to the bullpen instead of demoting the ostensibly sputtering Lance Lynn or the basically forgotten Jaime Garcia. Let it not be said that the Cardinals ignore the best fans in baseball: Joe Kelly put together one of his best starts of the season Sunday, holding things together for five innings before allowing a clutch of baserunners two outs into the 17th.

I count it as a blessing that Jaime Garcia also put together his best outing of the season, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out 10 in eight innings of his own—I'm not sure I'm prepared for a mid-August rotation controversy. Garcia lowered his ERA nearly half a run, to 4.00 even, but Kelly knocked his own down to 3.27.

Perhaps most impressively of all, Adam Wainwright improved his on-base percentage to .160. The Cardinals may yet lose this game, but most of their pitchers have successfully impressed their biggest fans. (I'm a charter member of the Adam Wainwright The Hitter Fanclub.)

Cardinals Vs. Pirates: Sunday Matinee Stretches Into Evening, 18th Inning

2012-08-19T23:49:02Z

The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates are now entering the 18th inning of a Sunday series final, but the game will still only be worth one win and/or loss. Both teams scored in the 17th inning, but the score remains tied at 3-3 after 51 outs for both sides.

The Pirates got their run on an infield hit by Garrett Jones in the top of the 17th given up by Marc Rzepczynski. It was Rzepczynski's first batter of the day, as he entered the game with runners on second and third in relief of Joe Kelly.

But the Cardinals answered in the bottom of the 17th, turning a leadoff single by Yadier Molina into a sacrifice fly by Tony Cruz that scored pinch runner Ryan Jackson.

Should the Cardinals win, at some point, they will tie the Pirates at 66-55 on the season.

For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Viva El Birdos. To find out more about the Pirates, head over to Bucs Dugout. And, for all of your MLB needs, visit Baseball Nation.