Adam LaRoche called Wednesday the worst night he had in the major leagues, and it had nothing to do with going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in the Pirates' 7-4 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis.
LaRoche started coming down with the flu during the game and was so ill Thursday that he was held out of the 2-1 loss to the Cardinals. He is also is doubtful to play Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Cincinnati. "I kept waking up every half-hour," LaRoche said. "I'd be sweating, then I'd have chills. It was a rough night."
A flu bug hit the Pirates' camp during the final week of spring training, and manager John Russell hopes this is the last remnants of that. He also knew LaRoche had to be feeling ill when he did not argue with Russell's decision to keep him on the bench.
"Adam is a tough guy to take out of the lineup," Russell said. "He doesn't like days off. He likes to be out there every day."
Eric Hinske took LaRoche's place and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
CARDINALS 2, PIRATES 1: The Pirates were held to only one hit, a seventh-inning single by Ramon Vazquez, by Chris Carpenter and relievers Ryan Franklin and Dennys Reyes. Ross Ohlendorf gave up two runs, both in the seventh inning as the Cardinals rallied from a one-run deficit, and seven hits in six-plus innings to take the loss.
