The Cardinals are off to a 7-3 start to the season riding the back of their solid starting pitching and very balanced offense. But the starters set the tone for the entire game and they have given the team a chance to win on a nightly basis.
Kyle Lohse: 2-0, Lance Lynn 2-0, Jake Westbrook 2-0, Jaime Garcia 1-0, Adam Wainwright 0-2.
One of the biggest issues last season was the Cardinals bullpen being overworked and blowing a lot of games during mid-season. They eventually got on track, thanks to some trade deadline moves and free agent signings and we all know how that worked out in the World Series.
Granted it's only a 10-game sample size, but it's never too early to stress the importance of quality starts from your starting pitchers. It goes a long way to rest the bullpen, use them when needed and on a routine schedule.
Mike Matheny is doing a great job of not letting the guys pitch too long into games. The Cardinals have put together a solid bullpen and it will become important as we get into the summer and fall part of the season.
It's clear the Car
dinals have a lot of things clicking right now, including the offense. Matheny is giving the older guys some occasional rest and the young guys have come through. Matt Carpenter, Shane Robinson, Tyler Greene, Tony Cruz, Erik Komatsu. These guys are playing well and contributing because the manager is showing faith in them and giving them starts. It's something that will bring this club closer together and make the bench guys so much more dangerous.
The Cardinals have been doing damage these last two games against the Cubs without Lance Berkman or David Freese and they still scored 15 runs in those two games.
Once again, the Cardinals are only 10 games into the season, but they're already showing some great signs that can only excite Cardinal fans, as we see them progress through this season and try to make the playoffs to defend their World Series title.
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