Tonight belonged to Joel Pineiro.
The St. Louis Cardinals (40-32) beat the New York Mets (35-34) by a score of 3-0.
Livan Hernandez was good, Pineiro was just better. Hernandez held the Cardinals to three runs (two earned) over seven innings of work. He walked three and struck out three.
He was very good. It could be argued that outside of his start against the Yankees, he’s been the best pitcher since the end of May.
Elmer Dessens turned in two solid innings in relief, setting the side down in order both times.
Pineiro held the Mets to only two hits, singles by Luis Castillo and Jeremy Reed, over his nine innings. He needed only 100 pitches thanks to inducing 22 ground balls for outs. The meager Mets lineup didn’t hurt either.
Just have to tip your cap to him and move on. He’s just great against the Mets, especially when Fernando Tatis is their cleanup hitter.