Jake Arrieta pitched plenty well today, especially after the first inning. It was a nice, tight, exciting game for a while, but as soon as Arrieta departed, James Russell and Brian Schlitter put up a four spot on the wrong side of the ledger. Suddenly, a 2-2 game was 6-2, and basically over.
Ryan Sweeney and Nate Schierholtz went deep, which is good for them, and Justin Ruggiano had a pinch-hit double late. Emilio Bonifacio had three hits. So all of that is swell.
But it’s a 6-3 loss to the Cardinals, which is not.