The St. Louis Cardinals dropped the second game of their Wrigley Field series with the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, with starter Jake Westbrook unable to get past a surprise rain delay on the way to an 11-4 loss. Westbrook allowed five runs in two innings for the loss; Matt Garza picked up his second win of the season, striking out seven in five innings and allowing one run after a string of hard-luck losses. Erstwhile closer Ryan Franklin struggled in a rare appearance, putting his future with the club into doubt.
Ryan Theriot, Colby Rasmus, and Nick Punto picked up two hits for the Cardinals in the loss. Albert Pujols went 1-3 with two RBI before being removed. Theriot won't play in Thursday's game after leaving Wednesday's with "pain in his side", presumably not caused by any talk-radio comments he's made in the last several months.
Joe Pettini continues to manage the Cardinals in Tony La Russa's absence, following his internet-diagnosis of shingles.