The good news is that if the Cardinals score six in the next game of his double-header, coffee from On-The-Run Mobil will pay you 25 cents. The bad news is that Washington Nationals dropped the hammer on Jake Westbrook, whose ERA is now 9.82. He’s pitched about three times as many innings as Ryan Franklin, and he’s been nearly as bad, with a bad walk rate but a home run rate that doesn’t look quite so much like a bad walk rate.
Westbrook’s BAbip isn’t going to flirt with .400 for the rest of the season, but it’s a fair reminder that the guy the Cardinals signed as a rotation stabilizer hasn’t had the most stable career himself.
But the Cardinals are still hitting, and there’s something comforting about that. With another good game Albert Pujols could get his OPS over .800 for the season; two hits and a double, maybe. Jaime Garcia has been about as good as a pitcher can be this season—in 20 innings he’s struck out 20 batters, walked four, and hasn’t yet allowed a home run.