Carlos Martinez threw 101 pitches Thursday. Not a single one of those throws from the electric, and occasionally wild, starting pitcher got past catcher Yadier Molina.
It was the one ball Martinez tossed to Molina from in front of the mound that got away.
Martinez blamed the throw for causing the game, and the three-game series against the Padres, to slip away from the Cardinals.
Martinez provided the Cardinals with seven innings and allowed just two runs, one of which was earned, on Thursday. He even did something he had accomplished only once in his previous nine starts: pitching a scoreless first inning.