Since Tony La Russa became St. Louis Cardinals manager in 1996, his clubs have had only seven longer winning streaks.
With their 7-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals extended their current winning streak to seven games, the longest active stretch among all MLB clubs.
It is not only St. Louis’ best run this season – it would have been their longest during the previous three years, too. One has to go back to their World Series-winning season of 2006, July 7-16 to be specific, to find an example of the Cards taking seven straight games. Ironically, the 2006 Cardinals vanquished Houston and Los Angeles during their run, the same clubs defeated in the first five games of the current streak.
Because someone will surely ask, in the Tony La Russa years (starting in 1996), the Cardinals have enjoyed just seven winning streaks of eight or more consecutive games. The club’s best under Tony was 11 straight in August 2001.
St. Louis Cardinals winning streaks, 1996-present
| First | Last | G | Opponents |
| 8/9/2001 | 8/19/2001 | 11 | MON,NYM,CIN,PHI |
| 5/7/2001 | 5/17/2001 | 10 | PIT,CHC |
| 8/27/2004 | 9/5/2004 | 9 | PIT,SDP,LAD |
| 9/8/2001 | 9/22/2001 | 9 | LAD,MIL,PIT |
| 7/2/2004 | 7/10/2004 | 8 | SEA,CIN,CHC |
| 9/3/2002 | 9/11/2002 | 8 | CIN,CHC,MIL |
| 8/30/1996 | 9/7/1996 | 8 | COL,HOU,SDP |
| 7/11/2010 | 7/20/2010* | 7 | HOU,LAD,PHI |
| 7/7/2006 | 7/16/2006 | 7 | HOU,LAD |
| 8/4/2004 | 8/11/2004 | 7 | MON,NYM,FLA |
| 4/27/2003 | 5/4/2003 | 7 | FLA,NYM,MON |
| 9/11/2000 | 9/17/2000 | 7 | PIT,CHC |
* current
Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the above table.
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Wow. The Dodgers had a nuclear meltdown against the Giants. http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100720&content_id=12454052&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
I’m having one of my insomnia attacks which is why I am still up at this hour. Talk to everyone tomorrow.
What makes me happiest at the present moment is the fact that we are, hands down, the hottest team in all of Major League Baseball! If we can finish-off the Phillies and then go to Wrigley loaded for bear, we will streak to the 5 additional wins needed for the longest streak under Tony’s watch. Mind you, I use the term, “Tony’s Watch”. Tony’s roster has been steeped and stocked by the General Manager and the Farm Director and the resultant talent is so brimming with vibrancy that even the most inept bungler, with deliberation, cannot successfully contain it. The past seven wins are due largely to the stepping-up of the team’s “small-ballers” and “B-Teamers”. The next five will likely be largely due to the awakening of our sleeping giants (as evidenced in the past three games). By “sleeping giants”, I refer not only to our Big Boppers, but also to our Gold Glove All-Star Catcher. We are not only built to have a few more such streaks this season, but also to enjoy a decade-long dynasty (that not even New York Yankee money could ever hope to buy).
crdwmn: Here is one of the many interesting things to be read in your link (a comment from one of the Dodger fans)…
“The moment I saw Broxton running onto the field, I knew it was over. I kept screaming at the screen,”Keep Kuo in, keep Kuo in! ! !” If you could look at my past comments, u would see that I had no confidence in Broxton after his blown save against the Yanks. He has a long way to go before I will ever trust him”
It is self-evident that the reader also had in mind the blown save against our team… Our Hell began in Philadelphia and lasted for over a month. May a similar Hell befall not only the Dodgers (who we just swept) and the Phillies (who we are now demoralizing), but also the Reds (whose bandwagon fans need to come back down to Earth with a dose of reality).
THE SUPERIORITY OF GARCIA (2.27) OVER BLANTON (6.21)
While Blanton never gives-up less than 3 ER and nearly always gives-up 1 HR, Jaime seldom exceeds 2 ER (he has given-up more on only 2 occasions) and rarely gives-up a HR (only 3 all season). While Blanton is .281 against lefties, he is even more generous (.315) against righties. While Jaime is .225 against lefties, he is almost as stingy (.243) against righties.
Say what you will about Jaime not lasting more than 6 innings, but doubters are powerless to gainsay the above indisputable facts: Jaime is truly superior to Blanton! Pitching, therefore, will not present our biggest challenge tonight. If we were to imagine the unlikely scenario that Jaime should suffer another horrible night and give-up 5 runs, bear in mind that our offense has been averaging 6 runs during the past 7 games. Meanwhile, tonight, while young stud Strasburg (2.03) shows the veteran Arroyo (3.96) how it’s done, he will also be cooling the jets of the Reds’ offense.
The bottom line? I would be personally shocked at the end of the night, if we had not extended our streak to 8 and had not expanded the margin over the Reds to a game-and-a-half…
The numbers are certainly there and Garcia has shown he can come back from bad starts. I am stil a little spooked from his last start and I hope he has figured out what he did wrong.,
Lineup from FOX Sports Midwest:
Lopez 5, Jay 9, Pujols 3, Holliday 7, Rasmus 8, Schu 4, Molina 2, Garcia 1, Ryan 6
Many thanks, Brian!
Either Tyler is still sore, Tony is encouraged by Brendan’s overall performance yesterday or Westy is right about the Cardinals shopping him… In any case, under the auspicious circumstances, I ain’t got any complaints about tonight’s lineup…
When Greene came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning last night, his wrist was wrapped in an ace-bandage like manner. Though not nearly as interesting as many of the theories floated here, I believe he is really hurt.
Reason and sanity compels me to agree with you…
If we could morph Brendan and Tyler together we’s have a decent SS.
1. Lopez 3b
2. Jay RF
3. Pujols 1B
4. Holliday LF
5. Rasmus CF
6. Schumaker 2B
7. Molina C
8. Garcia P
9. Ryan SS
Westy should be happy
I didn’t mean to repost the lineup, sorry. I did mean to say that Westy should be happy that Yadi is not sixth.
Phils sent down the pitcher from last night, Carpenter. That’s two in a row. I say we knock out Blanton too. I think Hamels is safe.
Ah yes, the proverbial musical Yadi. Too bad there isn’t a 10 hole, we could stick him there.
The Astros have softened the Flubs for us; taking 2-out-of-3 with a 12 inning marathon in which Piniella was obliged to use 7 relievers! Yeah, they’ve got a day to lick their wounds, but their stunning 3-out-of-4 crushing of a contender was nevertheless soundly countered by a demoralizing drubbing at the hands of a lowly doormat team. When they face us in the “friendly confines” that their fans routinely transform into a toilet, they won’t be smugly sashaying onto their yard with a swagger…
Last night when A. Carpenter threw that wild pitch, my reaction was to say, “Guess who is being sent down to the Fillies’ AAA club tonight?” (with reference to joining Kendrick on the plane) Now, crdswmn informs us, “Phils sent down the pitcher from last night, Carpenter”. Their swift punishment of demoting errant pitchers to their AAA club is tantamount to the dispatch by which the Kremlin is known to banish political enemies to Siberia…
Every little bit helps BB. AP has set himself up to be given few opportunities. Blanton will miss inside and low at times……….which makes MH and Colby players to watch. Jay is a wild card. If he would go to left a few times, he might catch a pitch inner third. Blanton is vulnerable to the long ball………..
About Lopez. Any body notice his weight? He looks like he has gained 10 lbs since April. He is fatiguing and slowing noticeable. He is still the best choice though. The Freese situation really doesn’t help.
57, you have a way with words.
“Blanton is vulnerable to the long ball…”
- Westy
While Blanton never gives-up less than 3 ER and nearly always gives-up 1 HR, Jaime seldom exceeds 2 ER (he has given-up more on only 2 occasions) and rarely gives-up a HR (only 3 all season). While Blanton is .281 against lefties, he is even more generous (.315) against righties. While Jaime is .225 against lefties, he is almost as stingy (.243) against righties.
Latest Phillie rumor: Werth is trade bait. Phils want more pitching and are shopping for Oswalt and/or Haren.
Jason Werth was one of there core guys………that hurts.
57, I never look at statistics. I know how he throws. Tonight he is vulnerable to the Long ball.
Concerning a particular At Bat of Albert that got Westy riled-up…
If Westy had been wrong about the facts surrounding the case, I would cast doubt upon the conclusion that he drew. However… Let it be known that Nutlaw confirmed Westy’s repeated assertion that Albert was being pitched around. To me, the finding (together with Westy’s re-examination of the video) lends credence to the idea that Albert was playing a game which did not smack of teamwork…
One would “never look at statistics” any more than one would ever eat food…
Baseball fan = Statistics addict
Albert needs to stop chasing down and away pitches. He is not going to hit the long ball that way. Colby can golf those low insiders but he needs to stop striking out.
Hear! Hear!
Lets hope Strasurg slows down the Reds.
I have no doubt that he will… In fact, I would be shocked if the Reds won tonight’s game.
Albert is not an opposite field hitter. That is Yadi’s forte. The down and away pitches are death for Albert. McGwire needs to work with him on this.
All the haters who won’t forgive McGwire had placed him at fault for the offensive underachievement of June through mid-July. If they fail now have to give him credit for the resurgence, it will be difficult for them to avoid being called hypocrites…
blingboy, I know it’s only the first inning, but…
Strasburg retired the side with only 13 pitches…
Well, Carp often didn’t need 13, but Strasburg is only a rookie.
I wouldn’t go so far as to compare Strasburg with either Chris or Adam (not for another couple of years, anyway), but I have no doubt that he will put the Reds in their place tonight…
57……….MM is a nice guy. If you examine the situation, the hitting resurgence could hardly be attributed to him………………….Skip changed up and got better……….the kids brought it with them. He doesn’t coach Colby or Molina and Albert……………..Brendan was his last devotee………opps.
I know he is developing a situational dialog. He may become a good hitting coach…….down the road.
Strasburg update…
After 2 innings: A total of 31 pitches and 3 K
I have never given McGwire credit for the resurgence any more than I had ever blamed him for the underachievement. I spoke only of the irrational haters…
Rain delay.
Game start delayed until at least 7:45 p.m. CT and will be later if more rain comes.
I’m watching the game “blind” with the ESPN Gamecast again: Does anyone know of the anticipated start time of the delayed game?
As soon as my query went out, behold! I notice that I am immediately answered: Thank you!
Strasburg update…
After 3 innings: 48 pitches 2 H 1 ER 1 BB and 4 K (so, it won’t be a shut-out)
The Strasburg is of no use to us if he doesn’t win.
That’s why I’m counting on him, crdswmn. I won’t be a happy cowboy if he dares to let us down…
Nats have tied it up.
Wonder what will happen tonight with the Dodgers and the Giants? Last night was a hockey game with cleets.
Hmmm. 5 game suspension for Kershaw, 1 game suspension for Torre.
Five-game suspension for a starting pitcher is same as one game for everyone else. With appeal, if he gets it any lower, it will be the same as no suspension at all. Stupid MLB discipline….
Right. Kershaw is appealing.
Strasburg update…
After 4 innings: 64 pitches 4 H 1 ER 1 BB and 5 K
Nats 1 Reds 1
Dodger bench coach was suspended too. 1 game.
After 5 1/2 – Nats 3 Reds 1
Game is starting now 57
Danke schoen!
Go Nats!
Is Jaime looking sharp, or what?
mowed em down
Blanton is sporting the stirrups. Nice.
The Old School look is about the only positive observation that I can make of him…
Pujols had a perfect pitch to kill and he did. Screamer right at the third baseman. Blanton was obviously expecting Albert to take the first one as he always does. Not this time. Bad luck. Jad a pitch up and out and he somehow managed to be on top of it and drive it into the ground.
Thats ‘Jay had a pitch up and out’.
Garcia’s arm is really live tonight. Lots of movement.
Blanton made very quick Garcia-like work of us…
Jaime is so cool, confident and poised…
He does look calm. Some mechanical things but he seems game……focused…locating. I hope when get him a lead to enjoy.
Matt took one right down broadway.
Then swung at a ball low and hit a weak liner for an out.
Both Flip and Matt smacked balls into very deep left – almost in the same spot! I only wish that the balls would fall out of range of a Fillie’s glove…
Nats 5 Reds 1 (top o’ the 6th)
Flip’s was high and lazy, Matt’s a soft lazy liner. Niether deserving of being a hit.
Blanton is much too Garcia-like tonight… If the bottom of our lineup doesn’t touch him, then we need to get him the second time through…
Nats 7 Reds 1 (still top o’ the 6th – and the Reds fans are booing their beloved team…)
I love the Nats. Except when we play them.
I am absolutely thrilled with Garcia tonight: Now, our offense really needs to open-up…
Well, our Field General might as well take the lead, by getting on base (by hook or by crook). Blanton has otherwise been pitching as though he is frightened of the Kremlin banishing him to AAA Siberia…
Amen 57, when we get through with Blanton they’ll have to send him to siberia piece by piece.
The offense needs to figure this guy out soon.
With that inning-ending groundout, Flip has now allowed the mediocre to reduce his ERA to 6.00!
No one has done anything except Yadi.
Never fear crdswmn, next inning we send up the lumber.
Amen, brother! Ya gotta BELIEVE!
45 pitches after 4 innings: I can’t remember when Jaime has been this efficient! Time now to complement and crown his superb effort!
Jay will set the table and then the Fillies will face the Three Big Boppers
Brian! That was Jon’s10th double in 39 games!
Like I said…
Selfish Pujols driving in that run…
This is Jay’s 40th game, but still good…
Now we need Colby to be so selfish and deliver the lumber than blingboy promised to crdswmn…
57, they showed Lou Brock in the stands.
That was better but not good enough. I’m greedy.:)
Colby’s in the dog house now for whiffing and leaving Albert flapping in the breeze. Ol’ Albert was not happy.
Nice measured swing by AP……………….. Holiday hit a P-rod. Colby? Albert was pissed about something…………. no hit and run there me thinks.
Damn! I really love Lou! I won’t be able to see my team on TV until Friday, Saturday and Sunday…
They showed Howard’s brother………he is a big man.
Schu and Yadi need to step to the plate.
The homer for the homeboy was a fluke: 53 pitches after 5 innings is otherwise much, much more than we expected from Jaime. It’s time now for Blanton to look more like Blanton. Let’s get it going, small-ballers!
They are twins aren’t they Westy?
That bunt could have been better. Directly in front of the catcher.
69 pitches in 6 innings! Who’d a’thunk it?
Now, with the third time through, we simply MUST let it loose!
They don’t look much like twins BB……………………… Skip hit the HR and now he is over swinging again. We need someone to play a role.
Albert sure enjoyed that nice play as he jogged up the line……………we are losing momentum from a great pitching performance. Regardless of pitch count……….Garcia shouldn’t pitch in the 8th.
Well, Jon Jay is certainly trying: A double and a single… I don’t understand why we are not firing on all cylinders. We’ve allowed Blanton to go below 6.00, with a quality outing! What in Hell in going on?
After 7…
Nats 7 Reds 4
No, Jaime will not be pitching in the 8th…
Jaime Garcia certainly deserves a standing ovation for his excellent performance (and he also deserves for members of our offense to man up – beginning with Matt)!
Good observational skills by Tony………..their BP in puffed and no one warming up….
Good call 57…………
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Jaime now has at least a chance to get the well-earned “W”…
Way to go Matt!
Its K-mac/Franklin finish…………
Kyle is definitely an excellent set-up man and also a proven closer (and he’s got what it takes to be a backend starter)
Having gone 0 for 3 (with two K), that error was definitely an “ouchee” for Skip
easy play……………….. miller vs howard……………..tony better not try pitching to werth with miller.
Miller! You’re called upon to get lefties OUT, not walk them! Wimp!
Werth is flat but I don’t like the match up that much…….I hope we aren’t afraid to pitch to Rollins.
Some insurance runs would be nice.
Whew! That was a nail-biter!
Great splitter……….he made a great swing to put it in play………….. thank heavens Tony took the “nerves” out.
57, the walk was a good thing. Miller could not give Howard anything to hit. He had to throw out of the strike zone and hope Howard would chase them.
Some insurance runs are OWED!
Werth hadn’t plated a runner with 2 outs since mid May.
As it turned-out, crdswmn, the walk didn’t hurt. Miller got Howard to swing at two: I think he is paid to come in (with men on the corners) and get him on three…
Ruiz is definitely not a Molina! Now, we have two gimmes in scoring position with no outs!
Did Flip man up, or what?
Yes!
Games not over but you have to feel for the Philly’s a bit. They have a bear on their backs and he ain’t licking ears.
All right guys; Jaime is owed at least a couple more!
I’m just happy that we touched-up Blanton and sent him off the mound with his ERA back up above 6.00…
Nats 8 Reds 5 FINAL!
Reds lost!
Are they going to pitch to Matt?
I like Jay’s attitude………..got it done in a hurry……got it done right. I guess he wants them to be completely without their pen tomorrow.
Matt was barely nicked 57
All right, Colby! Time now to be a disciplined, patient and picky slugger! And don’t be afraid to walk home a run!
I was wondering, blingboy; thank you for being understanding of my “blindness” on this Gamecast
A sacrifice RBI is perfectly acceptable, Colby my man!
Franky looks kind of goofy up there. Pen guys are laughing. Never swung.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Frankie bat.
All right, Franky: It’s up to you to go in for the kill! Since you’re a contact pitcher, let’s induce only groundballs, hey?
He was told not to swing……………..I don’t like it……………he did his job………tony wants this game it seems………
5 runs is 1 less than our winning streak average of nearly 6; but what the hell?
He shoulda sqaured around and faked a bunt. Just to get Dave and Tony to perk up a little.
When Adam gets done with them tomorrow, they’ll limp out of here only 2 games above .500…
We’ve got an 8 game winning streak and the Reds are coughing in our exhaust, a game-and-a-half back!
Anybody want a broom?
We’ll have one in hand tomorrow, crdswmn: DEFINITELY! I can’t imagine how demoralized they are now, knowing that they must face Adam Wainwright!
Is it going to be LaRue tomorrow? Miles, and Winn……………
Wainwright doesn’t pitch to Larue. It will be Yadi.
Garcia was the MVP……….he has regained his cool………………so much desperation around the league, the trades should start to happen this week.
Shu was over swinging today……..HR fever again……….Colby likely sits along with ???……. Craig will go down……….do they give him a parting shot?
I can’t imagine a Wainwright game being called by LaRue. Given Skip’s error and two whiffs, Aaron ought to be on 2nd tomorrow. With both Jon and Matt securely in the outfield, I can’t imagine pulling Colby for Winn, unless Tony wants to punish our boy for going 0 for 3…
Molina looks hobbled……………Tony know the importance of the Cubs series……….I rest him…….
Hammel is pitching isn’t he?
I could understand that and, under the circumstances, I’m sure Adam would tolerate it. You’re right, the Flubs need to be taken seriously and we cannot accept anything less than leaving Wrigley with a 12 game winning streak…
I’m stumped trying to come up with something to complain about.
Albert and Matt both drive in meaningful and timely runs.
Brendan is coming around, trust me on that.
The Phillies clubhouse will be very quiet. I’ll bet nobody mentions facing Wainy tomorrow. For them, that would suck so bad its not funny.
It should be noted that our offense was not really all that hot tonight, and we still get 5 and win.
Yes and Hamels is the best of the four they’ve thrown at us (3.78 ERA)
Tony is not going to play LaRue with Wainwright. Yadi will get his rest with Hawkesworth or Suppan.
Ludwick 2-2 withanother homer in Memphis. Kinney with another great game.
Hammels, right.
Our offense simply wasn’t firing on all cylinders like last night (and the night before). There is a certain reassuring satisfaction, however, in getting 4 clutch runs nevertheless… We keep rising-up to the occasion!
“Ludwick 2-2 withanother homer in Memphis”? Why isn’t he on a plane for St. Louis right now?
The lineup? The other day we won with the worst lineup imaginable. Miles, Wynn, Larue, OK with me. That Philly roadkill isn’t quite flat enough yet .
I agree, blingboy; the payback for what the Fillies did to us in their yard needs to be disproportionate and resounding!
Tony will use this excuse to sit Colby and likely Jay as Craig gets a parting look……….unless he doesn’t want to confuse anyone…………. Wynn and Miles are the only positives.
What does Mo do if we stay hot for the next two weeks? Making a significant trade in the middle of a hot streak???Madness.
To tell you the truth, Lopez, Winn, Albert, Matt and Aaron (if all of them are “on”) are all we really need – assuming that Adam will also be “on”.
I don’t think we’ll see Craig. What if he went 4 for 4 with a pair of dingers. Remember what happened when he started for Albert at first.
In this win streak delirium, where everything is going right, it is truly difficult to think about trades! “Let’s see… What do we need in order to have an 8 game winning streak?”
Hamels is a lefty. Colby and Schu will sit. It will be Winn and Miles.
Craig going only 2 for 4 with a dinger would be sufficient to give us the nightmares we’ve been dreaming of.
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100721&content_id=12487108¬ebook_id=12491282&vkey=notebook_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl
Wow……….this is a full speed ahead approach…………looks better than mid august to me……….almost before the trade deadline for someone.
At this juncture and under the circumstances of everybody stepping-up, the thought of Winn and Miles is perfectly acceptable to me…
Sounds like Lohse wants a piece of the magical action goin’ on here…
Astros beat the Flubs in extras.