There was a run in the top of the first. There were two runs in the bottom of the first. There was a run in the top of the second. Would the Cardinals be able to keep up the developing pattern in the bottom of the second?

The answer is no, they would not. Colby Lewis threw nine pitches to three batters in the frame, and all three batters made outs. Easy outs, for that matter - there were two grounders and a whiff. I, for one, cannot believe that Nick Punto and Jaime Garcia were dispatched with such ease.

Off we went to the third inning with the score even at two, and Garcia, in turn, managed to keep the Rangers off the board. He didn't have a stress-free inning, mind you, as he allowed a one-out single up the middle to Michael Young, and then fell behind Adrian Beltre 3-1. But Beltre swung at a high-away fastball out of the zone and chopped a grounder to second, where Punto began a routine 4-6-3 double play.

Garcia's pitch count is up to 59 and the Cardinals' bullpen has been active, but we're sitting on a tie game in the bottom of the third.