West Coast games are brutal. I find myself hoping the games are over before midnight my time, but more often than not falling asleep no matter how invested I am in the game.

Last night was similar, except for the fact that I did stay awake. And, I much prefer listening to a game like that than the one the night before (… of which I only heard about six innings!).

Still, the hour the game finished and the hour I needed to be up this morning didn’t agree much with one another, so we’re going to make this a very visual recap. Here, in .gif-form, is how I made my way through last night’s game.

This is me, trying to watch West Coast games. So … sleepy … must … cheer … on … Cards …

Then, when the Redbirds went six up, six down and the Padres scored first …

But, then Daniel Descalso singled and Matt Carpenter doubled and I was all,

Tie game, y’all!

And we were only just beginning!

Next up, Adam Wainwright sat down six in a row. And, the bats were ’bout to heat things up.

A Jon Jay single, a Descalso RBI double, a Pete Kozma base hit, a Waino sac bunt, a Carlos Beltran RBI double, a Matt Holliday single, and a Craig RBI ground-rule double (ALL the hits!) later, and I wasn’t particularly sleepy anymore. In fact, I was nearly jazzed enough to break into song!

I didn’t, though. It was late. My neighbors probably wouldn’t have appreciated it.

I *barely* contained myself on THIS, though.

Danny D! Grand slam? A 9-1 lead? More Minions!!!

Okay, so the Padres got one more run late in the game. But, Carlos Martinez managed to reign it in and get another double play (the third of the night!) to end the game.

That’s a late-night-Tara-is-a-wee-bit-delusional, but-the-Cards-have-the-best-record-in-baseball winner!

Wainwright did the Wainwright thing: 7.1 IP, 4 hits, a run, a walk, and 6 strikeouts. That along with Carpenter, Beltran and Craig going 2-for-5, Kozma’s 2-for-4 night, and Dirty Dan’s game changing night (3-for-3 with a grand slam) sealed Waino’s sixth win.

West Coast trips are tough. I consider every win celebration worthy. These guys are playing good ball right now, and I love seeing their ability to come right back after a disappointing loss and throw a little weight around for a big, much needed win.

Good work, boys.

Let’s do it again tonight, shall we? Tyler Lyons would love a MLB-debut winner, I do believe. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. Central time.

Tara is a St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball and a contributor to Around the Horn. Follow her on Twitter @tarawellman.