The Cardinals and their fans have long prided themselves in playing the game the right way, which is more or less like repeatedly admitting they like the smell of their own farts. Their vaunted classiness was on full display Tuesday evening in St. Louis when starter Miles Mikolas threw at Ian Happ twice as a way to avenge catcher Willson Contreras, who’d had to leave the game after being struck by Happ’s backswing. Never mind that Happ hugged his former teammate or that the game was only two outs old.
The first message was a 94 mph fastball up and in that Happ was able to turn away and avoid.