Carpenter's big night leads Cards in rout of Kluber, Indians

[June 27, 2018]  St. Louis' Matt Carpenter had two homers and Jose Martinez and Kolten Wong also homered as the Cardinals knocked out two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in the second inning in an 11-2 victory over the visiting Cleveland Indians at Busch Stadium on Tuesday.

Martinez's two-out, three-run homer capped a five-run second inning and KO'd Kluber (11-4), who gave up six hits and six runs in 1 2/3 innings in his shortest career start. He walked one and struck out two in a game delayed by rain at the start for 86 minutes.

Carpenter had five hits, including a double and two singles, and scored five runs. He homered in the first and eighth innings and is 8-for-9 in the series.

Kluber entered the game with a 2.24 career interleague ERA , the second-lowest in the majors since 2011. He tied Bob Feller's franchise record with 18 strikeouts in his only previous start against the Cardinals, a 2-0, one-hit victory May 13, 2015.

Martinez, Wong and Marcell Ozuna had two hits apiece for the Cardinals, who won their fourth straight game and will go for a three-game series sweep Wednesday.

Lonnie Chisenhall had two hits and an RBI and Jason Kipnis had an RBI single for Cleveland, which had a seven-game winning steak broken in a 4-0 loss to the Cardinals on Monday. The Indians had given up 13 runs total in their previous eight games.

Right-hander Carlos Martinez (4-4) gave up six hits and two runs, with eight strikeouts and a walk. He had an 8.10 ERA in four previous starts after returning from the disabled list in early June.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (13) hits a solo home run against Cleveland Indians relief pitcher George Kontos (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, when Chisenhall and Kipnis had two-out RBI singles after Francisco Lindor singled and Michael Brantley walked to open the inning. The Cardinals had thrown 19 scoreless innings at home entering the game.

Leadoff man Carpenter homered on Kluber's fourth pitch of the game to make it 2-1.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs in the second on two singles and a walk before Carlos Martinez hit a sacrifice fly and Carpenter singled. Jose Martinez hit a 1-1 pitch for his homer to cap the five-run frame for a 6-2 lead.

Wong's two-run homer in the third made it 8-2, Yadier Molina had a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Ozuna singled in a run in the sixth.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.