Jaime Garcia know how to cure what ailed the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday afternoon, averting a bullpen catastrophe by throwing nine shutout innings to put the Cardinals past the San Diego Padres in the last game of the Opening Week series by a final score of 2-0. Yadier Molina and Ryan Theriot drove in runs in the victory; Dustin Moseley was the hard-luck loser, pitching seven inning and allowing just four hits and an unearned run.
Garcia struck out nine and walked two after a Spring Training line that had a lot of fans worried about his immediate future. His one rough inning was salvaged when Ryan Ludwick hit a bases-loaded line drive at third baseman Daniel Descalso, who caught the ball on the fly and ducked down to tag the base for an unassisted double play.
The Cardinals will begin their tour of the National League Central tomorrow, taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three game series at home before taking on the Giants in San Francisco over the weekend. The Padres take a day off tomorrow before returning to San Diego for a two-game set against those same Giants.
For postgame reaction and analysis be sure to check out SB Nation’s Cardinals blog, Viva El Birdos.