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 Lynn struck out Mike Stanton with the bases loaded to seal his
first major-league save, Lance Berkman's second double of the game
brought home Albert Pujols with the go-ahead run in the eighth
inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the Florida
Marlins 3-2 on Friday night.
Called upon because regular closer Fernando Salas was unavailable,
Lynn gave up a hit and two walks in a 24-pitch roller-coaster of a
ninth, and held on anyway.
"A little out of control," Lynn said. "I was able to regroup and get
it done."
Pujols doubled off Florida starter Anibal Sanchez (6-5) to lead off
the eighth, and Berkman drove Sanchez's final pitch of the game into
center field to put St. Louis on top. Matt Holliday hit his 18th
home run for St. Louis and Mitchell Boggs (1-3) threw a scoreless
seventh for the win.
"I was excited. Something for Lance, something for Boggs, his first
win, mostly our team and the excitement of the moment," Cardinals
manager Tony La Russa said. "You're facing the next young superstar
in our league with the bases loaded and nowhere to go with him and
you end up getting a punchout, that's a dramatic moment."
Stanton had three hits, including a triple, and stole a base for the
Marlins, who had a serious chance in the ninth.
Joe Thurston, selected earlier in the day by Florida from Triple-A
New Orleans and back in the majors for the first time since 2009,
singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and the Marlins had
runners on first and second after Dewayne Wise drew a one-out walk.
But Lynn -- called on to close after Salas needed a combined 51
pitches in appearances Tuesday and Thursday -- struck out Emilio
Bonifacio on a 95 mph fastball, then, after walking Greg Dobbs on
four pitches to load the bases, got Stanton swinging.
Sanchez gave up eight hits and three runs while striking out seven
in 7 1-3 innings, and it still wasn't enough to snap what now is a
10-game winless streak for the right-hander. He batted in the
seventh, the Marlins clearly thinking he had one more inning of work
left against the heart of the Cardinals' order.
The move backfired after Pujols and Berkman doubled two batters
apart, and the Marlins lost for the sixth time in their last eight
home games.
"Albert got the better of him in that situation," Marlins manager
Jack McKeon said. "When you get in those situations you can't let
the big guys hurt you. Find a way."
St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook gave up two runs and six hits in
six innings, throwing 106 pitches on the steamy 89-degree night to
help take some burden off a weary Cardinals bullpen.
The Marlins are already ailing up-the-middle defensively, with
second baseman Omar Infante going on the disabled list Friday with a
broken finger and shortstop Hanley Ramirez still dealing with a
sprained left shoulder -- and another blow came Friday, when center
fielder Mike Cameron sprained his left hand.
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Cameron was shaken up trying to make a diving catch, appearing
to twist his wrist in the turf and writhing in pain for a few
moments. Cameron remained in the game until the bottom of the
sixth, when he was replaced by pinch-hitter Bryan Petersen.
Cameron was 2 for 2, raising his average to .177 for the season,
.219 in 21 games with Florida.
"It got to the point where I didn't want to make myself look
like a fool swinging with one hand," Cameron said. "It just got
kind of worse over the course of the game. I just decided not to
take any more chances."
Florida opened the scoring in the third when Stanton -- batting
third for the first time in his career, just as Logan Morrison
debuted in the cleanup spot -- hit an RBI triple to the gap in
right-center to score Dobbs. Morrison nearly made it 2-0, but
Pujols ranged to his right to snare a sharp grounder that he
flipped to Westbrook covering the bag to end the inning.
St. Louis took the lead in the fourth on Holliday's leadoff
homer, a double by Berkman and a run-scoring single two batters
later by Gerald Laird. Buck pulled Florida into a 2-2 tie with
an RBI single in the home half of the fourth.
NOTES: Cardinals 3B David Freese said he was feeling a bit
better Friday, one day after taking a pitch to the helmet and
getting a mild concussion. The Cardinals don't anticipate
placing him on the DL, and Freese could be back in the lineup in
a couple days. ... Florida RHP Ricky Nolasco is scheduled to
start against St. Louis for the seventh time in his career
Saturday night, still seeking his first win against the club.
Nolasco is 0-3 with a 7.06 ERA all-time against the Cardinals,
giving up 10 hits and seven runs over five innings in each of
his last two outings against them. ... RHP Chris Carpenter
starts for St. Louis on Saturday. The Cardinals are 10-13 in his
23 appearances this season, matching the number of losses they
had in Carpenter's 35 starts a year ago. He hasn't beaten the
Marlins since Aug. 29, 2005.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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