“I don’t think I could have experienced something like this unless it was here in St. Louis”, adding of the Cardinals stars, “It was hard to look at them as the enemy”.
Advertisement
“Those guys weren’t going up there, just giving themselves up to move the runner over”, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.
“We have a lot of different ways we can score runs in our lineup, and that’s the sign of a good team”, Yelich said.
The Cardinals were flawless on defense a night after committing at least three costly miscues, among them their major league-leading 69th error. Phelps had given up just two in 46 innings. “I felt good out there, but the command wasn’t where I wanted it to be”.
Matheny gave Holliday, a career left fielder before this season, the benefit of the doubt, for the missed play in the fourth. Tough to get a read on this one with nether hurler facing the respective opposition so perhaps a small over play… “We were exhausted. It was time for a home run”.
Ichiro Suzuki doubled, singled twice and had another hit taken away on a replay challenge, leaving him six shy of 3,000 in Major League Baseball.
Tommy Pham lead the way with two of the Cardinals’ four homers and drove in four runs.
Koehler (6-8) thought pitch sequence could have been a contributing factor, but noted he tried to throw an 0-2 fastball to Stephen Piscotty inside and it sailed over the plate and got stroked for a two-run double in St. Louis’ four-run third. Of his curtain call after a three-run shot in the fourth, he said, “It’s disgusting now”.
The hit was the first since July 4 for the 42-year-old Suzuki.
Ichiro has started 31 games, mostly of them earlier in the season when Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich were out with minor injuries. They were 55-26 at home previous year, tied for best in the majors. “When I don’t, it seems like it’s really getting hit”, Koehler said.
Chen has surrendered 19 homers, among the league leaders. Stanton scored on a one-out sacrifice fly by Don Kelly for a two-run advantage.Yelich finished off the scoring in the eighth with a sacrifice fly that scored pinch runner Yefri Perez.Former St. Louis minor leaguer Kyle Barraclough (5-2) earned the win with 1 2/3 ideal innings out of the bullpen, striking out three. Three different relievers coughed up runs, with new closer Seung Hwan Oh absorbing the loss. He was eligible to come off the DL on Saturday.
The umpiring crew worked a man short after plate ump Chad Fairchild took a foul off his right forearm in the bottom of the first. Hechavarria, charging from shortstop, got off an awkward throw that got past Don Kelly at first and rolled far enough for Diaz to scamper home.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander is 3-0 in three starts this month, allowing one run in 22 innings.
Cardinals: Michael Wacha (5-7, 4.36) has been on the upswing, going 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last six starts.
Advertisement
Wainwright (9-5) didn’t permit a hit until Adeiny Hechavarria led off the sixth inning with a double to left-center field, prompting an ovation from the crowd of 44,840.
