Another shaky September outing by Carpenter was helped by 2 Reggie Sanders homeruns. It wasn’t enough as the Astros pulled out the game 7-6. Note the guy in the red shirt in the 3rd picture below as he leads the “REG-GIE” chant.

One can’t fully appreciate Busch’s illuminated arches from ground level. These were shot using a tripod from the roof of the parking garage to the west of the stadium.

This game started out like a typical Carpenter outing. The Cards jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, and Carp cruised through the first 6 innings before allowing 3 runs in the 7th to tie the game. With 2 outs in the 9th, Luna singled and stole second. After a curious intentional walk to John Rodriguez, Eckstein won the game for the Cardinals on a bloop hit to right.

Mark Mulder picked up a hard-luck loss going all 9 innings while allowing just 2 runs. Greg Maddux didn’t allow a run in his 5 and 2/3 innings, and the bullpen held on for the 2-1 win. The Cardinals lone run came on a Pujols solo in the 7th.

This Cardinals squad of mostly non-regulars committed 4 errors and were decidedly second best for most of the game before making it interesting in the 9th. Pinch-hitter Pujols reached base as the game winning run, but So Taguchi struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.