So Near , Yet So Far Away


Cardinals rookie righthander Michael Wacha -- seen earlier this year against the Mets -- came within one out of a no-hitter last night. With two down in the 9th inning at Busch Stadium, Ryan Zimmerman's infielder grounder barely nicked Wacha's glove. Shortstop Pete Kozma's throw pulled first baseman Matt Adams off the bag -- as Zimmerman beat the throw.

Wacha retired the first 14 Washington batters before Adam LaRoche reached on a Matt Carpenter erro. The 22-year old Texas A&M product walked only two in posting his 4th win of the year as the Cards, already locked into a post-season spot, pulled closer to clinching the NL Central.

In what has to be one of the oddest trends in baseball, Wacha became the third pitcher this season to lose a no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth, joining Yu Darvish and Yusmeiro Petit.




As for the title of this post, I wonder if Branson resident and lifelong baseball fan Tony Orlando was at the game. "So near and so far away" is a memorable line from Tony's first hit "Halfway to Paradise."

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