Michael Wacha keeps Cardinals alive with masterful outing
By Chris Lacey
The St.Louis Cardinals were playing for their post season lives against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday and they needed a stellar pitching performance to force a game five in St.Louis.
They got that and more with rookie right-hander Michael Wacha hurling another gem. He had a no-hitter through 7.1 innings, but that was broken up by a home run off the bat of Pedro Alvarez in the eighth inning.
He could have of made history by being just the third pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs. The other two pitchers that have done this are Don Larsen for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series and Roy Halladay for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010.
This is something that the Cardinals are getting used to, as he almost threw a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals on Sept. 24. The last 16 innings thrown he has only allowed two hits and one earned run. That’s very impressive for a young pitcher.
He has command of all his pitches and can throw them for strikes at any count. The fact that he kept Pittsburgh scoreless through most of this game is not a surprise, because only twice this season had he allowed more than three runs in any start.
St.Louis has a very special pitcher in Wacha and he has the potential to join a great list pitchers that have pitched for the Cardinals.