Not this one again …

I’m not a fan of these West Coast games, and I doubt I’m alone on that. The first game of the series was worth staying up for; this one, not so much. But I’m proud to say I stuck through all nine innings.

The final score was 13-8, but it looked like it could’ve been a 20+ runs type of game with the way the ball was jumping out of Chase Field. Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter was not sharp and something seemed really off with him. Despite that, the Cards offense is continuing to heat up. There were home runs from Berkman, Freese and Rasmus, and Albert’s bat seems to be finally waking up. He had three hits.

The Good:

• Albert Pujols had three hits and is now batting .200.
• Lance Berkman hit back-to-back home runs in consecutive games for the first time since October 2005.
• Freese and Rasmus both hit homers as well.
• Jason Motte pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings — the only Cards pitcher of the night to not allow any runs.

The Bad:

• Carpenter only went four innings, allowing 8 hits, 8 runs, 3 walks and only had 4 Ks. He also gave up three homers. According to Fox Sports Midwest, this was the most earned runs he’s allowed since Sept. 23, 2005.
• Yadier Molina was the only Cards starter without a hit, as he went 0 for 5 and is now hitting .152 for the season. Also, after Armando Galarraga walked Skip Schumaker to force in a run in the fifth — the second consecutive walk Galarraga had given up — Yadi swung at the first pitch and grounded out to end an inning where the Cards had already scored two runs.

The Ugly:

• Bryan Augenstein will be put on the DL with a groin injury he suffered during the seventh inning.
• Brian Tallet may also be heading to the DL also after a tumble at first base that fractured a bone in his right hand, but that is still TBD.

After this loss to the D-Backs, the Cards are 4-7 and currently sit in the fifth spot in the Central Division. Today Jake Westbrook will going for his first win this season in his third start. I hope the Cards offense continues to improve, because I’ve liked what I’ve seen these past two games.