By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | Oct. 11, 2015, 10:37 pm CT
As MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports, just one hour before he was set to make his first postseason start since 2012, a queasy Jaime Garcia hesitantly walked into Mike Matheny’s office to tell his manager he’d been dealing with a stomach virus for the past view days.
The 29-year-old was far from full-strength, having not slept well for the past three nights. But the lefty wasn’t going to let the condition prevent him from what injuries over the past few years have kept him from doing: pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals in October.
“Once I made the decision to pitch, I intended to go out and compete,” Garcia told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.“It was my start. It was my game. Once you do that there’s no excuses.”
“I found out about an hour before the game, Matheny told KMOV’s J.J. Bailey about receiving the news from Garcia. “He said he was doing okay, he just had a couple of rough nights’ sleep. So we were going to keep a close eye on him.”
The Cards skipper gave Garcia the ball, then proceeded to watch him surrender five unearned runs to the Cubs in a second inning filled with mental errors, physical blunders, and a share of bad luck mixed in for the redbirds.
[Related: NLDS Game 2 Recap: Cubs put squeeze on Cardinals, even series with 6-3 victory]
After Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first inning, the Cubs came out ready in the second, capitalizing on Kolten Wong’s misfire while attempting to complete a double play and Jaime Garcia’s throwing error on a squeeze bunt by pitcher Kyle Hendricks to ties things up.
“It was a mental mistake from my side,” Garcia told Langosch after the game. “Initially, since it was a hard bunt, I thought to go for the double play. But that should never happen. In that situation right there, you should go home and get that out.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon continued to place small ball, as a bunt by the next batter, Addison Russell, went just to the right of the mound, leaving Garcia with only a play at first as another runner crossed the plate.
Following a Dexter Fowler RBI single, right fielder Jorge Soler, who did not start in Game 1, added insult to injury, blasted a two-run shot to give the Northsiders a commanding 5-1 lead.
Garcia’s night would be through after just 45 pitches over two innings, with the Cardinals later announcing a stomach virus as the reason for his early exit.
“I’m very disappointed in myself right now, especially because of how hard I worked this year and the last couple years to get to this position,” Garcia said. “My main goal was to get to the postseason and help this team win games out there. Next time I take the mound, I’m definitely going to be better.”
Scheduled Game 4 starter Lance Lynn took over in the third, lasting just one inning while surrendering another run. While the Cards’ bullpen would keep the Cubs off the board from there, back-to-back solo home runs by Wong and pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk wouldn’t prove to be enough as the redbirds fell 6-3 at Busch on Saturday.
The the redbirds make it past the Cubs in the NLDS, they’ll decide whether or not to give the ball to Garcia, who is still looking for his first postseason victory after seven starts in October.
“I’ve been dreaming and I’ve been so excited about having an opportunity to do what I did today,” the lefty said. “But sometimes stuff happens. What are you going to do? I said how I felt, but at the same time, I was going to take the mound and compete. I worked so hard all year for that situation. Unfortunately, it didn’t go my way.”
STL Baseball Today NLDS Coverage
Game 2 Recap: Cubs put squeeze on Cardinals, even series with 6-3 victory
Game 2 Video Recap: Cards fall to Cubs 6-3 in NLDS Game 2
The Story Continues: Wainwright shines in first playoff relief appearance since 2006
Next Up: Cards set to face Arrieta as Game 3 moves to Wrigley; Game 4 starter TBD
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Featured image used under Creative Commons from Barbara Moore. No changes made. Image License.
