Garcia Pieces Together A Gem

Things were shaping up to be a historic night at Busch Stadium, but the fans are willing to settle for a win.

The St. Louis Cardinals' second year pitcher Jaime Garcia was perfect through seven innings. After he took the mound in the 8th, everyone could feel him inching ever-so close to a perfect game, which is arguably the most difficult task to accomplish in all of professional sports.

It was just not meant to be.

Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers lead off the 8th inning, grounding out to first base. There was a sigh of relief, as Fielder is a dangerous hitter.

But Garcia made his first goof-up of the night when Casey McGehee stepped up to the plate as the second batter of the 8th. The pressure was probably overwhelming in Garcia's mind, which is probably what caused him to walk McGehee in only four pitches.

The crowd responded to the walk with a hearty applause, which was well deserved, despite the walk. Also, they all knew that the "no-hitter" was still possible, and thats no small feat either.

Unfortunately the "no-hitter" was not meant to be either, as the very next batter, Yuniesky Betancourt, was able to squeeze a ground ball into the outfield.

What Garcia was able to accomplish, on the other hand, was pitch a phenomenal game. He pitched a complete game, giving up only two hits and one walk, and he shut out the opponent.

Many were skeptical towards to the Cardinals starting rotation after it was announced that Adam Wainwright would miss the entire season, but the rotation has been responding to the pressure, and it is fair to say that Garcia has been the "Ace" of the rotation so far this season.

Outside of Garcia's spectacular outing, the rest of the team played a solid game as well.

Colby Rasmus had a triple and an RBI; Yadier Molina hit his second home run of the season; Matt Holliday had an RBI; and superstar Albert Pujols had a three RBI night.

Tonight was the first of a three game series against the Brewers, and the Cardinals walked away with a 6-0 win. The team is also enjoying a 1.5 game lead in the NL Central over the Cincinnati Reds, who are the defending champs of the division.