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 On Monday, Hazelbaker was the guy the media couldn't wait to
interview after wowing the second-largest crowd in Busch Stadium III
history.
Going 4-for-4 with a triple and double, plus a diving catch in left
field, the St. Louis rookie left fielder was the star of the
Cardinals' 10-1 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 28-year old Hazelbaker, who played 751 minor league games over
the last seven years before making his first big league roster, is
10-for-19 through his first seven games. He has earned a spot in St.
Louis' everyday lineup.
It certainly is a 180-degree turn from last May, when the Dodgers
handed him his walking papers.
"I didn't know if I'd get this chance then," Hazelbaker said,
surrounded by a coterie of media ringing his locker. "Luckily, the
Cardinals picked me up."
Hazelbaker went from organizational soldier to prospect literally in
the blink of an eye, hitting .308 at Double-A Springfield and .333
at Triple-A Memphis last year. He kept hitting the ball this spring,
and his performance, coupled with a late run of injuries in spring
training, punched his ticket north.
 Hazelbaker's performance has some wondering if he is legit or the
star of a small sample size, but manager Mike Matheny sounded like a
believer when asked about him.
"Whatever he's doing, keep on doing it," Matheny said. "I like
watching him play."
With a one-out triple in the first inning Monday, Hazelbaker touched
off a 19-hit onslaught, a record for a Cardinals home opener. The
previous mark was 18 on April 5, 1974, against the Pittsburgh
Pirates. Matt Holliday doubled him home, and the rout was on against
overmatched Milwaukee starter Taylor Jungmann.
It was 3-0 after one inning, courtesy of an RBI double by Randal
Grichuk and a run-scoring single by Yadier Molina. It was 5-0 after
two as Matt Carpenter lashed an RBI triple and trotted home on
Hazelbaker's sacrifice fly.
The game reached the laugher stage before the third inning was over,
St. Louis (4-3) scoring four runs and knocking Jungmann out. Molina
rifled an RBI double off the left field wall, followed by a
sacrifice fly from Kolten Wong, a run-scoring double by Aledmys Diaz
and Carpenter's two-out RBI single.
"That's how hitting works," Hazelbaker said. "The more you (hit),
the better you feel about yourself. It was definitely a fun day."
Jungmann (0-1) was pounded for eight hits and eight runs in two-plus
innings, walking one and whiffing two.
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Meanwhile, Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (1-0) cruised through six
scoreless innings, giving up just four hits with a walk and seven
strikeouts -- six looking. It was a far cry from Wacha's first
outing, when he went only 4 1/3 innings and got a no-decision in St.
Louis' 6-5, 11-inning loss April 5 in Pittsburgh.
"I was able to locate the fastball down in the zone to both sides of
the plate," Wacha said. "I feel like it really opened up the (zone)
for me."
After Chris Carter homered off reliever Matt Bowman in the seventh
for the Brewers' only run, St. Louis' Matt Adams finished the
scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. That put
the Cardinals in double figures for a third consecutive game, the
first time that has occurred since 1980.
Molina and Diaz each bagged three hits, with Molina knocking in two
runs and adding a rare steal in the first inning. Carpenter
collected two hits and two RBIs, while Grichuk reached base four
times, drawing a pair of walks to give him five in the last two
games.
Eight players drove in runs for the Cardinals as five Milwaukee
pitchers tried and mostly failed to mute their hot bats.
"You've got to have a short memory because we play so many games,"
Carter said. "We've got to put this one behind us and look ahead to
(Wednesday) night."
The Cardinals finished the day with eight doubles and two triples,
the first time they reached those totals in a game since Sept. 3,
1939, against Pittsburgh.
NOTES: Milwaukee drew 26 walks in its first six games, the most it
worked in that span since 2009. ... St. Louis LHP Marco Gonzales
hasn't decided yet whether to undergo surgery for his ailing left
elbow. A rehab program that doesn't involve surgery is also an
option. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said that SS Ruben Tejada
(left quad strain) is working out and feeling good at the team's
complex in Jupiter, Fla. Tejada will be eligible to come off the
disabled list Saturday.
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