Lineup explanation

Going into tonight, left-handed batters are hitting .333 against Cardinals starter Brad Thompson. Right-handed batters are hitting just .241 against him. That's why Grady went with Betemit, who, let's face it, is basically a left-handed hitter, over Andy LaRoche, who bats right-handed. ... Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic gold medal figure skater and now an actress, stood roughly 30 feet from home plate and still managed to bounce the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Lieberthal. .. Cardinals have picked up right where they left off against the Dodgers. They already have one run in and runners on second and third with one out against Tomko, who went 2-0 to two of the first three batters. Cardinals 1, Dodges 0, top 1.