A reversal of fortune for Kip Wells and the Birds last night. Sweet win over Kansas City. Maybe this is what Wells needed to get his (and our) nightmare season turned around.
The St. Louis Cardinals sent struggling Kip Wells to the bullpen to give him time to clear his head.
But they were out of arms, and the right-hander responded with two scoreless innings in a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
"You don't really want to use him in that kind of a game unless you have do, and we had to," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "He responded and gave us two great innings."
Wells (3-11) needed 10 pitches to retire the side in order in the 13th and worked around David DeJesus' one-out triple in the 14th, striking out cleanup hitter John Buck with two men on to end the inning. Wells, who has the most losses in the major leagues, was scratched from his start on Tuesday only three hours before the game.
The Cardinals used eight pitchers and left-hander Tyler Johnson was the only reliever not used because of a slightly injured right knee.
"You're sitting down there most of the game knowing you're probably not going to get in unless this kind of situation transpires," Wells said. "To have a good result is a pretty good feeling.
"This is probably our biggest win of the year as far as I was concerned."
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