Prior to today's game, Allen Craig had hit five line drives in the Major Leagues in 22 at-bats with one hit to show for it. He'd gone 2-22 despite having maintained a .300 average over every season of his Minor League career.
↵After his first line out to center field today I was worried that this would continue indefinitely—that Craig had misjudged Major League Baseball, perhaps, and assumed that everybody would be really impressed with his aim. But a ringing double and a shot back through the middle on Jonathan Broxton's best fastball later he finally has something to show for his ability to make solid contact almost constantly.
↵For Viva El Birdos, this feels a little like Christmas. For Matt Holliday it has to feel pretty good, too. But with the starters on the bench or the Disabled List and fellow Memphis call-up Jon Jay on the bases, this feels best for any Cardinals-watchers who worried about the team's ability to win without their best. Jeff Suppan made his best start of the year; Evan MacLane finally recorded an out, then another one, and another one; and even after Albert Pujols couldn't put the Cardinals in the lead the team's most snakebitten rookie and veteran pushed them to ten games over .500, Tony La Russa's favorite round number.
↵Oh: And the Reds lost!