Cards versus D-backs
Winner takes the first series.
Do red hats bring luck?
Not to the pitchers,
Or not tonight anyway.
Lose the red hats, please.
Lance Lynn was in first
And he threw many pitches.
Ninety-four in all.
Only four innings.
Four earned runs allowed — oh ouch.
ERA is 9.
Yet the offense struck
And scored four runs in the third.
Not enough, of course.
Three more in the sixth
From Matt A, Koz and Dan D.
Matt H drove in two.
Yet no lead was safe.
Joe Kelly gave up three runs.
And two were homers.
Speaking of home runs,
Yadi hit his first, a bomb.
Cards up 8-7.
Mujica did well.
One of the few Cards who did
When he was pitching.
Rosenthal relieved.
The game was soon tied at 8.
Extra innings next.
Rzepczynski was good.
D-backs relievers were too.
And on the game went.
Action in the 12th:
Yadi walked, Matt A singled
Koz drives in a run!
Boggs in for the save …
Oops, not tonight. Now 9-9.
And so they played on.
Nothing in 13
The game just continued on.
Why not use Heath Bell?
Another request:
Our namesake, Aaron Miles.
Twitter wanted him.
Salas was the choice.
Nothing in 14th, 15th.
He even batted.
Bottom of 16,
The inaction now ended.
Unfortunately.
A walk, then a bunt.
Man in scoring position.
A single — it’s done.
Longest game, Chase Field.
No matter when the Cards lose.
Now off to San Fran.
For more in-depth looks at the game, here’s the perspective from Derrick Goold and here it is from Jenifer Langosch. Bernie Miklasz also has 16 points on the 16-inning game, plus here’s the scoop from Goold on the red hats.
And, perhaps thankfully, the Cardinals have the day off today. Then, this weekend, a rematch of the NLCS against the Giants with hopefully a different outcome. Although all the World Series celebrations will be a painful reminder of last October, for sure. The good thing after the Diamondbacks series: none of the three are night games.
Christine Coleman is the lead St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com. Also follow @AMilesFastball for the latest updates.
Aaron Miles' Fastball 
Since 2008, the Cardinals are 31-52 in extra-inning games, a .373 winning percentage.
That’s the equivalent of playing half a season like last year’s Cubs.
That big a discrepancy probably isn’t due to random chance, and has a lot to do with the often-putrid bullpen performances we’ve seen from this team for an awfully long time.
The last season they had a winning record in extra-inning games was 2007, when they were 7-4.
Love the haiku, But, please, DON’T lose the red hats on the road. That’s the best thing the Cardinals have done for their look in decades. So much prettier and cardinal-like combined with the gray.