INSIDE
PITCH
The
Cardinals staked right-hander Lance Lynn to a 7-0 lead after four at-bats and
Lynn scored
his sixth straight victory, becoming the first Cardinals starter to win his
first six starts since Bob Tewksbury in 1994. But there were some twists and
turns along the way before the Cardinals posted a 9-6 win at Arizona.
First,
though he allowed no runs, Lynn was not as sharp as he had been in his
first five starts, when he gave up a total of six runs. He fanned seven but
walked four on Monday and ran his pitch count to 91 by the end of the
fifth.
With Lynn having qualified for the win, Cardinals
manager Mike Matheny lifted him.
"(Monday) was a struggle," said
Lynn. "I didn't
have command. But I was able to get out of it. No harm, no foul."
But Matheny may have stayed with
left-handed reliever J.C. Romero a batter too long as the Diamondbacks rallied
for six runs in the sixth, five of them off Romero, who retired none of the five
hitters he faced. Romero has given up seven runs in his last 1 1/3 innings after
working scoreless ball in his first eight outings.
Right-handed reliever Fernando Salas,
though he gave up three singles -- two of them scratch hits -- nevertheless
started a good run of Cardinals relief, striking out three hitters out of four
to keep the Cardinals ahead going into the seventh.
The Cardinals then reversed the
momentum the way they had created it in the first place. Leading off the
seventh, first baseman Allen Craig homered for the second day in a row and third
baseman David Freese made it back-to-back for the second time in the
game.
Right fielder Carlos Beltran and left
fielder Matt Holliday had hit consecutive homers in the third after shortstop
Rafael Furcal had opened the game with a long, 441-foot home run. The Cardinals
hadn't hit five homers in a game since 2007 when they had six.
Craig has knocked in nine runs in his
five starts since coming off the disabled list. He banged his
surgically-repaired knee trying to flag down an errant throw in the sixth and
came out of the game in a double switch in the eighth, but said he was all
right.
"No big deal," said Craig.
Matheny wasn't so sure, though. "We're
keeping an eye on it," said Matheny. "He wasn't moving quite as good he was."
Matheny did note, however, that Craig was strong enough to hit a home run in his
final at-bat before leaving the game.
NOTES,
QUOTES
RHP Victor Marte, LHP
Marc Rzepczynski and RHP Jason Motte went through the last three innings in
scoreless fashion. Marte and Rzepczynski were perfect and Motte pitched around
two singles, fanning two along the way. Cardinals pitchers fanned
13.
RHP Lance Lynn lowered
his earned run average to 1.40 with five scoreless innings although he walked
four. He had passed only seven in his first five starts but manager Mike Matheny
thought it was a good idea to lift Lynn after five, even though he was pitching a
shutout. "I'm thinking about his health, long-term," said Matheny. "His first
year as a starter in the majors, he doesn't know what kind of grind he's in
for."
SS Rafael Furcal hit his
30th leadoff homer in the first inning. His run scored meant that the Cardinals
had scored in the first inning seven straight times, six of them by
Furcal.
RHP Chris Carpenter, whom
Lance Lynn is replacing in the rotation, is progressing but may not be pitching
until July after battling an arm strength problem relative to a nerve issue.
General manager John Mozeliak said, "The last word I got was that things went
well (in treatment and his rehab). But as far as getting back on the mound, I
haven't been given any timetable regarding that."
1B Matt Carpenter figures
to get the start on Tuesday night against Arizona RHP Ian Kennedy. 1B Allen
Craig tweaked his right knee, operated on last November, in the sixth inning on
Monday.
By the
Numbers:
1-0 Cardinals' record
against both the National League Western Division (Arizona) and Eastern Division (Miami). They are 16-11
against the NL Central.
Quote to
Note:
"A lot of things happened
right for us (Monday). We just had one inning where the wheels fell
off."
- Manager Mike Matheny,
discussing the five-homer night by his team and a six-run sixth inning by
Arizona.
MEDICAL
WATCH
1B Lance Berkman
(strained left calf) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 19.
He had difficulty when he attempted running May 3 but felt much better May 6
after running for about 10 minutes in the outfield. He could be activated May 11
when the Cardinals are back home.
RHP Scott Linebrink
(right shoulder capsulitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to
March 30. He felt tightness during an April 30 bullpen session, and he didn't
appear close to a return.
RHP Chris Carpenter (weak
right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26. He
isn't likely to begin a real throwing program until May and probably won't pitch
until at least June.
Link to boxscore: St. Louis 9 at Arizona 6
Related article at The Cardinal Nation blog:
"The first five Cardinals in the order again go deep"