Week 5

Record: 18-15, .545, 1.5 games back
Position: 3rd place (behind Cincinnati and Chicago)
Runs Scored: 158 (2nd in NL)
Runs Allowed: 136 (7th in NL)
Defense: .684 (8th in NL)
Power Ranking: 99.2 (12th in ML)
Owner Mood: Happy, Fan Interest: 63/100
Last Week (5-2): 3-1 vs. ARI, 2-1 vs. STL

• 5/5: ARI 4, PIT 5 - Nova pitched well (7 IP 3 ER) calming down after a rough first inning. RBI's by Walker and McCutchen gave us the lead and Herrera earned his 2nd save of the season in the 9th.
• 5/6: ARI 2, PIT 3 - Castro picked up his 3rd win of the season pitching 7 solid innings and giving up 2 earned. McCutchen gave us the lead with a 2 run jack in the 6th. Grilli picked up his 5th save with a perfect ninth.
• 5/7: ARI 1, PIT 3 - Liriano pitched well (6 IP 0 ER) picking up his 5th win of the season. The key offensive moment was a 2 out 2 RBI single by Travis Snider in the 4th. Herrera picked up his 3rd save in the ninth.
• 5/8: ARI 5, PIT 0 - Lincecum took his 5th loss of the season in spite of another quality start (6 IP 2 ER). Arizona made us look like little leaguers as we struck out 14 times with SP Patrick Corbin going 6 innings with out allowing a run and striking out 9 men.
• 5/9: STL 2, PIT 3 - Wandy earned his 3rd win pitching well (7 IP 2 ER 6 K's) after a rocky first inning. Chris Davis provided all of the offense with 2 HR's and 3 RBI's as Grilli earned his 6th save with a perfect 9th.
• Jose Tabata left the game in the 6th after being injured on a defensive play. Diagnosis is pending.
• 5/10: STL 2, PIT 6 - Castro had another good start (6.2 IP 2 ER) but couldn't make it through the 7th for the win. Starling Marte broke the tie in the 8th with a 2 run HR and McCutchen led the way with a HR and 3 RBI.
• 5/11: STL 8, PIT 6 - We battled all game after another tough start for Nova (4 IP 5 ER). The key for the Cardinals was a 2 out 2 RBI pinch hit double by Matt Holiday in the 8th which blew the save for Grilli.

Who's Hot: Neil Walker: 11-24 1 HR 2 RBI 5 RS, Chris Davis: 7-17 2 HR 5 RBI 5 RS, Wandy Rodriguez: 2-0 16 IP 3 ER 8 K's

Who's Not: Nobody

Next Week: 2 vs. CHI, 3 @ ATL

Without a doubt our best week of the season so far. Offensively we have been battling and in spite of our strike outs we always find a way to stay in the game. The pitching really stepped it up this week with Wandy really breaking out and showing what he can do while Liriano has been dominant for the first month and a half of the season and Castro has been our biggest suprise putting up impressive numbers in his rookie season. We still don't have a full time closer but Grilli and Hererra have been doing well while splitting the role.

News from around the league:
AL Player of the Week: Avisail Garcia (DET) 8-13 4 HR 9 RBI
NL Player of the Week: Miguel Montero (ARI) 10-22 3 HR 6 RBI

5/7: Matt Weiters (BAL) Out 4 weeks with a strained hamstring
5/9: Starlin Castro (CHI) Out 3 weeks with a fractured foot
5/12: Michael Pineda (NYY) out 5 weeks with a strained shoulder

Draft pool revealed
Top 10 players available:
Gary "Sleepy" Bowden: CF, 20 yrs old, 4.5* pot.
Trent Gray: CF, 21 yrs old, 4.5* pot.
Francisco "Flat Tire" Hernandez: SP, 20 yrs old, 4.5* pot.
Stanley "Trolley Line" Myers: SP, 20 yrs old, 4.5* pot.
Eric Miller: LF, 17 yrs old, 4* pot.
Cavan Biggio: 3B, 19 yrs old, 3.5* pot.
Chris Hoogeboom: SS, 20 yrs old, 3* pot.
Lloyd Bowers: SP, 19 yrs old, 2.5* pot.
Landon Davenport: SP, 20 yrs old, 2.5* pot.
Larry Emery: CF, 20 yrs old, 2.5* pot.