Strong Pitching Allows Cardinals to Even Series

  The Cardinals even the series with Bluefield 1-1 after a great outing from their young pitcher, Noel De Jesus. De Jesus pitched an absolute gem, seven innings pitched, four hits, one walk and four strikeouts. In those seven strong innings, De Jesus threw 91 pitches, 55 for strikes. Kyle Leahy came in for a six out save to lock the game down and keep the Cardinals 2-0 lead secure. 
  The final line for the Cardinals was two runs on three hits with no errors. On the other side, the final line for the Blue Jays was zero runs on seven hits with one error. The Cardinals may not have out hit the Blue Jays but their hits were timely. They were also more aggressive on the base paths early in the game. 
    After the series opener, the Cardinals attempted one stolen base and were caught stealing. Today, two stolen bases were attempted and both were successful. One of those stolen bases, in the top of the second, Sanel Rosendo stole second and later that inning scored on an infield single by Donivan Williams. From then on, the Cardinals never lost the lead. They added on to their lead in the top of the sixth after a solo homerun from Dariel Gomez, who got his first start of the season at first base after pinch hitting late last night for first baseman Kevin Woodall.
    On the flip side, the Blue Jays kept to their game plan of burning through their bullpen. In total, the first two games of this series, the Blue Jays have used 12 pitchers. After Eric Pardinho finished his fourth inning of work, his day was done, only allowing two hits, one earned run, two walks and five strikeouts. To that point, Pardinho had only thrown 65 pitches, but after the fourth inning, the game was in the hands of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Each reliever threw one inning. Even though the bullpen pitched well for five innings , the Cardinals pitching was too much for the Blue Jay hitters and they couldn't string their seven hits together. The Cardinals get their first win of the season and shutout of the season.
   Tomorrow the Cardinals wrap up their first series and first road series of the season. They return home Friday to take on the Kingsport Mets at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Make sure to get your tickets for all three home games and if you're the first 1,000 fans through the gates on Friday, you'll receive a Cardinals magnet schedule. Saturday is Paul DeJong bobble head giveaway day and Sunday there'll be live music on the concourse. For more information on Cardinals tickets visit jccardinals.com.