[countryboy]

Lost 2 out of 3 to the Pirates in Pittsburgh which means our lead is down to 2 games. Our bats have gone cold and our pitching is really letting us down. Mike Leake in his last 2 starts has pitched a total of 5 2/3 innings, allowed 15 runs, 3 strikeouts, 6 walks, and 5 homeruns. Not typical of how he's been all year.

We are now going home for our final homestand of the year which is 10 games. We begin with 4 against the Reds and hope that we can bounce back to mid-season form and push this lead back out to 5 games or so. We'll play 3 against the Cubs and finish up with 3 games against the Pirates.We will then play 4 in Milwaukee and 3 in Chicago to conclude the regular season.

Matt Carpenter is back in 5 days. Can't get here soon enough.