After last week where the St Louis Cardinals went 1-6, a day off was needed to reset and recharge.
After the day off on Monday, the week started just like the last one ended. Then it ended like it also.
Cleveland came to town for a two-game series at Busch Stadium.
Game 1 6/8 vs. Cleveland Indians 10 Cardinals 1
Shane Bieber held the Cardinals to just one run on five hits over six innings, striking out five. Edmundo drove in the lone Cardinal run in the fourth inning. Sosa would go 2-4. Matt Carpenter would also have a 2 hit game. He has now hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games. Three Indian Pitchers gave up only one hit, one walk, and struck out six.
Carlos Martinez took the hill for the Redbirds. Coming off his 10 runs in 2/3 of an inning performance at Chavez Ravine, he was looking for something better. What he got was a mixed bag as he would only four innings and give up five runs. However, he walked only one batter and struck out seven. The Cardinal pitching staff as a whole only walked 3 batters total and struck out 12 Indian batters.
Cleveland scored in the first on an Amed Rosario triple plating one, and a ground out by Jose Ramirez brought home the second run of the inning. Ramirez Would strike again in the third by hitting a three-run homer to right field to give the Tribe a 5-0 lead. Martinez was pulled for a pinch hitter in the fourth. Andrew Miller would pitch a scoreless fifth in his three appearances since coming off the IL 4 1/3IP, 5H, 0ER, 1BB, 3Ks.
Jake Woodford gave up a home run to Cesar Hernandez. Daniel Ponce de Leone and Seth Elledge each pitched a scoreless inning. Junior Fernandez would pitch the ninth, and he got bombed. 1IP, 5H, 4R, 2BB, 0Ks. With the loss, the redbirds have lost six in a row. The Cards start the week 0-1 and drop to 31-30 overall and third place in the NL Central.
Game 2 6/9 vs. Cleveland Cardinals 8 Indians 2
Adam Wainwright took the mound to try to put an end to the losing streak. In the first, it did not look good. A leadoff double by Cesar Hernandez and an infield single by Amed Rosario put two runners on board. And only one out. Eddie Rosario doubled home a run, and Harold Ramirez drove home another with a sac fly.
The Indians had a two-run lead, and the Rosario double was the last hit. Cleveland would retire the next 12 batters before hitting Bradley Zimmer with an 0-2 pitch. Waino would then retire the next 8 batters. Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley each pitched a 1,2,3 inning to preserve the win for St Louis. Between all three pitchers, NO WALKS were issued. In the last 6 games (54 IP), Cardinal pitching has only allowed 17 walks.
The Cardinal bats went to work in the bottom of the first. Starting with a Tommy Edman double, Tommy would go 2-5 collecting his 18th multi-hit game. Two outs later, Nolan Arenado Walked, and Tyler O'Neill reached on an infield hit. Yadier Molina worked Cleveland starter Jean-Carlos Mejia for a walk, driving in a run making it 2-1 Cleveland. Matt Carpenter then delivered a bases-clearing double, taking third on an error from the outfield and giving the birds a 4-2 lead.
Carpenter has been hot in June. .315/.363/.529 with two doubles and 3 RBIs and has hit safely in 5 of the 8 games played. In the third, the Cardinals would add to the lead when Tyler O'Neill would crush an 0-1 pitch 451 feet into Left Center Field with a runner aboard to make it 6-2.
Paul Goldschmidt would lead off the 7th with a solo Homerun that just got over the Wall in Right Field, giving the Cardinals a 7-2 lead. It was his seventh home run of the year. His second home run in 7 days. He has also now hit safely in 7 of his last 8 games.
Two batters later, O'Neil drove 3-2 pitch straight away centerfield, going 427 feet. Since coming off the IL, O'Neill's numbers are eye-popping .340/.367/.766 with 5DBls 5HRs and 11RBIs. His BAbip is .458. Add to that his play in the outfield is Gold Glove-caliber.
The win halts the six-game skid and evens the record for the week to 1-1 and an overall record of 32-30, three games behind the Chicago Cubs, who they will meet for a weekend series at Wrigley.
Fresh off-stopping the losing streak at 6 games, St Louis Flew into Wrigley for a weekend series is how things went.
Game 3 6/11 @ Chicago NL Cubs 8 Cardinals 5
Johan Oviedo drew the Friday afternoon contest looking for his first win. The Cubs pushed back Kyle Hendrick and started Kole Stewart.
The Redbirds started things off in the second inning with Matt Carpenter RBI single. In the third, they would strike again, this time on an RBI single by Nolan Arenado to make it 2-0.
The Cubs Answered back on a Joc Pederson Solo shot in the 4th, making it 2-1
In the 5th, Dylan Carlson would drive home a run with a double his 11th season. He would be followed by Arenado, who would drive home 2 with a single giving him 3 RBIs for the day and putting the cards up 5-1. He would go 2-4 for the day of his 18th multi-hit game in the bottom half of the inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Wilson Contreras would score on a passed ball. The Sergio Alcantara would triple driving home another run making it 5-3. Alcantara would come home on an errant pick-off attempt by Yadier Molina, scoring 5-4. Ryan Helsley would come in to shut down the Cub threat.
In the sixth, after a 14 pitch at-bat. Anthony Rizzo would hit a solo shot to right field off of Daniel Ponce De Leone.
In the 7th with one out and runners on the corners and Genesis Cabrera on the mound. Pederson would drive in two more with a double off the right-center field wall missing a home run by only a foot or two, making the score 7-5. Contreras would cap off the scoring for the Cubs with a solo shot to right field to make the score 8-5. The loss puts the cards at 1-2 for the week and 32-31, one game over .500 and four games behind the Cubs and Brewers, who are tied for first.
Game 4 @ Chicago NL Cubs 7 Cardinals 2
One thing ANY pitching coach will tell you is to THROW STRIKES.
John Gant was apparently asleep during class. Thing Cardinal right-hander entered Saturday night's gamer against the Cubs with one of the highest walk rates of the Cardinal starters. He only added to that ominous total. After an easy 1,2,3 first. Following a Nolan Arenado home run in the top of the second gave St. Louis the early 1-0 lead. After 1 out, Gant walked Wilson Contreras in the bottom half of the second, then gave up a two-run homer to Ian Happ. He then walked the next 3 batters to load the bases.
After getting Joc Pederson to pop out too short, he walked Kris Bryant to plate the inning's third run. Jake Woodford came in And gave up an RBI single to Javier Baez. He bounced a ball in front of the plate that hit Anthony Rizzo in the knee bringing in the 5th run for the Cubs.
All in all, Gant would go 1 2/3 innings charged with 5 runs on 1 hit and 5 walks, and 1 Strikeout.
The Cardinals got a run back in the third with a leadoff home run by Paul DeJong that traveled 429 feet. It was his first hit since coming off the IL and his 8th home run of the year, making it 5-2.
In the Cubs half of the third, Sergio Alcantara hit a solo shot off Woodford with two out, giving the Cubs a 6-2 lead.
Seth Elledge pitched the fourth and served up a leadoff home run to Pederson. To make it 7-2. After that, Andrew Miller, Junior Fernandez, Alex Reyes, and Angel Rondon finally combine to silence the Cub bats.
For Miller, it would be his fourth game in a row without giving up a run. He has gone 5 2/3 innings in that time, given up 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. The Cardinal pitching gave out 8 walks, only 3 by the six relief pitchers used.
After the two Cardinal home runs, the Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks would settle in and go 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits the 2 runs, walking 1 striking out 2. Cubs relievers helped Hendricks keep the Cards at bay. The Cards did threaten in the 9th, and they had the bases loaded When Craig Kimbrell got Edmundo Sosa to ground to third for the final out. The loss makes the Cards 1-3 for the week and an even 32-32 overall.
Game 5 @ Chicago NL Cubs 2 Cardinals 0
In a game where it was much needed, Carlos Martinez was at the top of his game. After using 6 relievers the night before, St. Louis needed quality innings from their starter, and that is what they got. The "Tsunami" looked every bit like a man with a mission. He worked quickly with energy to spare. After retiring the first 6 batters, Carlos gave up a double to start the third. After retiring the next two batters, Joc Pederson hit a ball that got away from Paul DeJong, allowing one run to score. Two batters later, Anthony Rizzo hit a ball that got under the glove of Matt Carpenter at 2B to plate the Cubs second run. Martinez would only allow one more hit thanks to some great defense by Nolan Arenado at 3rd.
Carlos would go 7 innings, giving up only 4 hits 2 Unearned runs, walking ONLY 1 and striking out six. Cubs starter Zac Davies retired the first 13 batters before a base hit by Tyler O'Neill off the glove of Patrick Wisdom. But was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. In all, Davies would 6 2/3IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 BB, 6 So., the Cardinals did have scoring threats in the 6th, 7th, and 8th but failed to drive any run across. It was the 4th time that St. Louis has been shut out all year and the third time by 2 runs or less. St. Louis goes 1-4 for the week and is now 1 game under .500 at 32-33
Next up for St. Louis is
The Miami Marlins come to Bush June 14-16
listed starters are
6/14 Adam Wainwright vs. Braxton Garrett
6/15 Kwang Hyun Kim vs. Trevor Rogers
6/16 Johan Oviedo vs Sandy Alcantara
Then St. Louis heads South to Atlanta for a 4 game set from 6/17-6/20. The pitching matchups are slated as
6/17 John Gant vs. Charlie Morton
6/18 Carlos Martinez vs Max Fried
6/19 Adam wainwright vs. Drew Smiley
6/20 Kwang Hyun Kim vs Tucker Davidson
Note: Dylan Carlson has only 3 hits in his last 29 at-bats, including 10 strikeouts
Tyler O'Neill has hit safely in 8 of his last 10 games, hitting .314 with 3 HRs and 5 RBIs
Ryan Helsley has not allowed a run or hit in his last 3 games spanning 2 2/3 innings.
In the previous 7 games, Cardinal pitchers have issued only 13 walks (8 in one game).
See ya next week
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