St. Louis Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia got off to a shaky start in the top of the first inning by walking Texas leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler. Elvis Andrus then singled to left, and Josh Hamilton followed that with a single to right, which plated Kinsler and gave the Rangers an early lead. From there Garcia was able to wiggle his way out of trouble.
But Lance Berkman saw to it that the Rangers' edge would be short-lived. With two outs in the bottom of the first and Skip Schumaker on base, Berkman hit the first pitch he saw from Colby Lewis--an ill-placed fastball--out of the park. The ball traveled some 413 feet into the left-centerfield seats, and the Cardinals left the frame with a 2-1 lead.
Texas answered right back in the top of the second, as Ian Kinsler smoked a two-out double into left-center and plated Craig Gentry, who was on second base. Garcia escaped further damage, but his pitch count is escalating quickly--he's already near 50 pitches.
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