With the grounds-crew waiting to run the tarp out in the bottom of the seventh inning, and a rain delay imminent, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Shane Robinson drove in a run on a bases-loaded groundout, pushing the Cardinals' lead to 3-1 over the San Francisco Giants. We go into an indefinite rain delay on that half-finished note—now Giants starter Matt Cain's night is over, and we the Cardinals are stuck on the verge of opening up what's been a close game all afternoon.
No word yet as to when the game will continue; severe weather has been in the forecast for St. Louis all day, and tornado watches were on the menu as this system passed through Missouri. The storm itself could go on another hour.
The Cardinals got started early and oddly—a Carlos Beltran knee injury forced them to go to their bench in the top of the second inning, and his replacement, four-corners utility hitter Matt Carpenter, homered in his first at-bat to give them a 2-1 lead they'd carry right up to the edge of the delay.
With Beltran and Allen Craig—double-switched out for Robinson—out of the game, the Cardinals' offense won't be especially dangerous in any extra-inning situation, so that pre-rain-delay insurance run could be crucial. They'll be without Mitchell Boggs, Edward Mujica, and Trevor Rosenthal when they try to get the last six outs of this game; for now, though, we're left waiting to see when they'll get the opportunity.