For seven innings, Thursday night at Busch Stadium was all about Michael Wacha. His major-league debut for the Cardinals actually matched the hype, a difficult feat to achieve.
Then came the ninth inning, and a long rain delay, another sad, frustrating night in what has quickly become the worst year of Mitchell Boggs’ life.
With closer Edward Mujica unavailable after saving four consecutive games, and Trevor Rosenthal in virtually the same situation, manager Mike Matheny turned to Boggs to try to save Wacha’s first major-league victory after Randy Choate and Seth Maness had successfully navigated the Kansas City eighth.
The intention was good, the execution was not. On Boggs’ second pitch, pinch-hitter Jeff Francouer launched a home run into the seats in left to wipe out a 2-1 Cardinals lead and with it, Wacha’s win.
It might have wiped out whatever hanging thread was left of Boggs’ confidence as well. He walked the next hitter he faced before Matheny made the slow walk to take him out of the game. Victor Marte relieved, and celebrated his recall from the minors by promptly hitting a batter, making a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, then giving up a two-run double to Eric Hosmer that put the Royals up 4-2.
The Cardinals could not get a quick end to their misery, however, as rain began to fall at Busch Stadium – forcing a delay that lasted from 10:32 p.m. until 3:04 a.m., a span of 4 hours, 32 minutes. This came after the start of the game already had been delayed by rain for an hour, much earlier in the evening.
The umpires were reluctant to call the game because it would have to be a suspended game, since the Royals had scored in the top of the ninth, meaning it would then have to be completed. But since this is the Royals’ only trip to St. Louis, the umpires did not want to force them to have to return to St. Louis to finish one inning.
There also was confusion about the rules, with some believing that if the game was suspended, the score would then revert to the last completed inning, and the Cardinals and Wacha would get the win. That all became moot when play resumed.
It took 10 minutes for the final six outs to be recorded, and a stoic Mike Matheny met the media shortly before 3:30 a.m., five hours after the game had really been lost.
The manager said that he had determined before the game, with Mujica and Rosenthal not available, that it would “most likely” be Boggs to pitch the ninth in any save situation.
“Mujica and Rosenthal have both been worked really hard and we needed the other guys to come in and pick up the slack,” Matheny said. “I know he (Boggs) hurts right now. We all do. The ninth inning is tough to pitch. We just couldn’t get it done tonight. He’s a guy who has been able to do that in the past. It’s a tough assignment for somebody who’s never done it.”
Matheny has been one of Boggs’ most loyal supporters during his struggling season, but the decision to pitch him in this situation was difficult to understand. He had other options available, even while resting Mujica, such as leaving in Maness, who had recorded the final out in the eighth, or bringing in Joe Kelly.
Instead it was Boggs, who has not been much better since his return from Triple A Memphis than he was before the Cardinals sent him out. He has allowed three earned runs in four innings in four appearances since his recall, including two homers.
For the season, Boggs is now 0-3 with an 11.04 ERA and in 18 games, and has allowed a whopping 38 baserunners in only 14 2/3 innings. This is the third time he has blown a save opportunity in five chances.
For all of those low moments, however, this might have been the lowest because of the celebration it ruined for Wacha, at 21, the youngest Cardinal to make his major-league debut as a starting pitcher since Rick Ankiel in 1999.
All the right-hander did, pitching 361 days after he was drafted in the first round last June out of Texas A & M, was retire the first 13 batters to start his major-league career and 21 of the 23 he faced in the game.
A double by Lorenzo Cain and a single by Elliot Johnson in the fifth were the only hits allowed by Wacha, who threw 93 pitches, striking out six. According to Stats Inc., he was only the fourth pitcher to make his major-league debut by pitching seven or more innings, allowing two hits or less, one run or less and not walking anybody.
What would have been a celebration dinner at Joe Buck’s restaurant with about 50 family members and friends in attendance instead turned into just dinner, with one absent member of the group – Wacha, who remained at Busch until the game was officially over.
“It’s a tough loss, but the great thing about baseball is that you get to come out and play again, I guess later today,” Wacha said.
In time, he will look back and remember more about how he pitched instead of how the game ended.
“Once I was able to throw the first pitch over for a strike I calmed down,” he said. “I will remember it for the rest of my life. It was an unbelievable feeling out there on the mound. It was a lot of fun.”
Unfortunately, Wacha’s debut will be lost except to the history books because of the blown save, the long rain delay and the fact the game ended early in the morning, the latest a game has ever ended at Busch Stadium III, by more than an hour.
“It was kind of a bizarre night,” Matheny said.
Matheny said the umpires, led by crew chief Joe West, had told him they were willing to wait until they could finish the game, no matter how long it took.
“We were in constant contact with the league and there’s no real protest to file,” he said. “It was a game that was in the hands of the umpires at that point and we found out the game could be played.”
Matheny still thought the playing conditions were bad. “It just got down to a situation of one of my guys getting hurt, and it’s a big deal. They (the grounds crew) got it to where we could play.
“It was just unfortunate for a lot of different reasons.”
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UPDATE Fri. May 31 4:50 p.m. Roster Move: Mitchell Boggs back to Memphis, Keith Butler called up.
Rob Rains will be bringing his sports knowledge to Patch as he shares his "Inside Baseball" columns and other articles. Check out StLSportsPage.com and follow @RobRains on Twitter.