(The Cardinal Nation Show) -- The Cardinals' starting pitching continued its outstanding run Tuesday night when righty Kyle Lohse, who has had three brilliant starts, stifled the Cincinnati Reds on four hits and no runs for seven innings.
Lohse has permitted only two runs in 20 1/3 innings. He is only 2-0, however, because after manager Mike Matheny took him out of the game after the seventh inning, the Cardinals made three defensive misplays in the eighth as the Reds tied the score.
A bases-loaded sacrifice fly by rookie pinch hitter Matt Carpenter netted a 2-1 victory in 10 innings but not a victory for Lohse.
Matheny admitted he felt badly that Lohse didn't get the win and made a point of telling Lohse that later on. "Watching a win go away from a starter hurts," said Matheny. "It hurt as a player. It hurts as a manager."
This was one of the first tough managerial decisions for newcomer Matheny and he admitted he "gave it a lot of consideration," about staying with Lohse, who had thrown only 90 pitches.
"But that fourth time through the order can be a tough thing to go through. I have tremendous confidence in our bullpen right now. Just like I will tomorrow," said Matheny.