For the past couple of years, Jonathan and I made a road trip to Kansas City see his beloved Yankees play there. It's about a six hour drive, but it's interstate most of the way. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I'd prefer to drive half way (St Louis) the night before so as to not make a 6 hour drive in one day. Since I was gonna be there anyway, I decided to take in the Cardinal-Astro game. I managed to snag a good seat on Ebay (Field box, 10 rows up) so I was set.
The trip up was uneventful. It drizzled on us most of the way. We drove straight through (three hours) and never stopped. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Chesterfield. It was about the midway point for our trip, plus I got a fabulous rate (71.70 with tax!). I left Jonathan at the hotel (hopefully studying for his Calculus and CME tests on Monday) and headed out.
Chesterfield is normally about a 20 mile straight shot up I-64. However, I-64 has been under construction for several years and they completely close sections of it. You either have to make a wide detour on I-44 or I-70 or take a side road off of I-170 (where the closure starts). I did the latter and hoped on Forest Park Parkway and managed to get downtown relatively easily.
I parked in our usual garage on Pine and headed down to my favorite place to eat before the game. Lion's Choice is a roast beef chain in this part of Missouri. It quite honestly puts Arby's to shame. Well, I get there and its closed with a big sign saying it was closed for the holiday weekend. There were not a lot of choices left. It was either Hardees, TGIF, or the place I will never call by name let alone go to (the place where they wear orange). I went to Hardees. I paid about 5.50 to eat. Just for fun when I got to the ballpark I added up the cost for a hot dog, pop-corn and drink and it was 14.00!
I walked on over the the ballpark. As I was going in, someone gave me a free McDonalds card foam finger plus a free egg McMuffin coupon (sweet...). I went in and found my seat as good as I had hoped. It was nippy though.
Joel Pinero pitched for the Cardinals. That worried me a bit. Mike Hampton pitched for Houston. I remember him dominating the Cardinals (for the Mets) in the 2000 championship series. It seems like he's been hurt ever since. Pinero shut them down. The Cardinals nicked Hampton for a run in the first but Ankiel struck out with the bases loaded. The Cardinals took a three run lead and Pinero pitched well. The Astros finally got a run on him in the 6th, but the Cardinals got a run back in their half. Pinero tired in the 7th. Josh Kinney came in and walked two to force in a run but struck out Hunter Pence to finally end the inning 4-2. Ryan Luckwick hit a home run to make it 5-2. The Cardinals loaded the bases with a hit and a couple of walks. However, with the pitcher having walked the last two, David Freese inexplicably swung at the first pitch and hit into a double play. Carlos Lee matched it with a towering blast in the 8th to make it 5-3.
In the eighth, they flashed up the Blues victory and the crowd went wild since this clinched their first playoff appearance in several years. They started chanting "Blues". Khalil Greene looked confused during his at-bat. It sounded like booing if you didn't know what was going on and I don't know if he got that.
Jason Motte came in to close. He totally imploded on opening day giving up 4 runs to turn a 4-2 lead into a 6-4 loss. He gave up two hits and got one out and Tony Larussa smartly pulled him and brought in Kyle McClellan. I was hoping that the Astros didn't get Lance Burkman up there. Even without those dinky Crawford boxes in his home park, he's a major threat. Kyle put them down and the Cardinals had a 5-3 victory. Coupled with the Cub loss earlier in the day, they were in first place!
The crowd was only about 38,000. They usually sell out. I am not sure if it was "the economy" or the weather (it was upper 30s by game end). I fortunately brought two coats, gloves and a hat so I was fine. With the crowd from the Blues game and this game, it took a lot longer to weave my way to I-64 West and back to the hotel, but it was worth it to see a Cardinal win. This was the first time I'd ever seen them win at the new stadium. They'd lost the past three years when I've gone.
Now onto KC to see the Yankees-Royals today!
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