Jaime Garcia allowed five runs in five innings and the St. Louis Cardinals couldn't quite rally, losing 6-1 to a Colorado Rockies club that never let up after putting up three early runs on the Cardinals' young ace. Garcia walked four and allowed a crucial home run to Carlos Gonzalez, and the Cardinals didn't find themselves on the board until a rally in the seventh inning that was stopped short after one run following an outstanding play from third baseman Chris Nelson. Marc Rzepczynski, back in a long relief role after the acquisition of Arthur Rhodes, was the lone bright spot, allowing one hit in three scoreless innings in relief of Garcia.
Rafael Furcal reached base twice and Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker doubled for the Cardinals, whose offense fell off after strong performances over the last week from their big three of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman. Gonzalez drove in four for the Rockies, who improved to 56-65 on the back of a strong performance from Jason Hammel.
Edwin Jackson gets the Sunday start for the Cardinals, who can't afford to lose any more ground to the Milwaukee Brewers—winners of a 1-0 nail biter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.