The St. Louis Cardinals had no answer for Jeff Francis in Colorado today. It was an ugly affair. Cardinals hitters combined for just two hits as Jeff Francis weaved his mastery inning after inning. He recorded the complete game win. He only allowed the aforementioned two hits and did not allow a single walk. He also struck out 8 Cardinals hitters.

The Rockies got to Cardinals pitching early. They scored 2 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the third. They ended up with 7 runs over 10 hits and a 7-0 victory. Only Holiday and Francis were hitless for Colorado—in Francis’ defense, he’s the pitcher. The complete game by Francis gives the Rockies bullpen a much needed day off.

Anthony Reyes started today’s game for the Cardinals. It’s an outing he would rather forget. Reyes lasted 5.1 innings, but he gave up 6 runs over 9 hits and a walk. He managed to strike out one lone batter. Hancock came in for relief and he surrendered a run in 1.1 innings of work. Johnson closed the game out with no hits.

The Rockies cooled down a surging Cardinals team. The Cardinals seemed to be heading the wrong way before the All Star break. Now it looks like they are back. They have a 4.5 game lead in the NL Central, which is a weak division. We still have a long way to go, but they have a more than great shot at winning the division. The Rockies get a win they needed. They are in the heat of things in the NL West, which is an all out brawl right now.

The Rockies win also stops, at least for the moment, their free fall. They are 2-8 over their last 10 games. As a result, they are now 4.5 games out of first. Still, the division is rather weak so they have a shot. All of the teams above them have shown plenty of weak moments and downward slides.