|
 But second baseman Kolten Wong and center fielder Peter Bourjos
made a case to be more than afterthoughts with big offensive
performances Tuesday night.
Wong's two-run triple capped a four-run second inning and Bourjos
had a hand in all three scoring innings as St. Louis overcame an
early 4-0 deficit to record a 7-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at
Busch Stadium.
Starting pitcher Lance Lynn (2-0) won despite allowing eight hits
and five runs, all earned, in six innings while walking none and
fanning four. He can thank an offense that seems to save its biggest
performances for his starts.
Lynn received 5.67 runs per start last year and has been handed
seven runs in each game this season, allowing him to boast an
unblemished record despite a 6.55 earned run average.
"The offense was able to pick me up again," he said.
He can thank the youngsters for this one. Wong turned on Homer
Bailey's first pitch in the second, lining it over first baseman
Joey Votto and down the right-field line for a hit that pulled the
Cardinals (5-3) into a 4-4 tie.
The organization thought highly enough of Wong that they traded
third baseman David Freese in the offseason — and moved incumbent
second baseman Matt Carpenter to third — to open up a spot for Wong
in the lineup.
So far, Wong is hitting .280 with a .400 on-base percentage and
providing above-average defense after struggling in his first taste
of the majors late last season.
"I was star-struck when I came up last year," he admitted. "I have
more confidence in myself now, like I had in the minors."
Bourjos started the season 0-for-13, but has five hits in this
series. On Tuesday, he went 3-for-4 with two runs and a critical RBI
in the seventh, singling catcher Yadier Molina home for a two-run
lead.
"Peter's a sparkplug," manager Mike Matheny said. "He's got
something going and we hope he can keep it going."
Bourjos also scored on the game's biggest hit. Left fielder Matt
Holliday's two-out, two-on fly ball to the warning track in right
field glanced off the glove of a leaping Jay Bruce, turning a 5-4
deficit into a 6-5 edge.
St. Louis' bullpen took it from there, working three scoreless
innings. Rosenthal worked around a pinch-hit leadoff single by
Brayan Pena in the ninth for his third save in as many chances.
[to top of second column] |
Logan Ondrusek (0-1) absorbed the loss for Cincinnati (2-6), which
has dropped three games by one run, two games by two runs and one on
a walk-off grand slam.
"It's frustrating," third baseman Todd Frazier said of his team's
slow start. "We got it going offensively early, but we couldn't
finish it out. It's early, but all these games count just as much as
they do in September."
The Reds jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Right fielder Jay Bruce lined a two-run triple to right-center field
and left fielder Ryan Ludwick drove in Bruce with a sacrifice fly to
left.
Center fielder Billy Hamilton made it 4-0 in the second with a
two-out RBI single to center that scored catcher Devin Mesoraco, who
doubled in his first at-bat of the season after being activated from
the disabled list on Monday.
The Cardinals evened it in their half of the second. Molina walloped
a leadoff homer to left, his third of the year. With two outs,
Carpenter lined an RBI single and then followed Lynn home on Wong's
triple.
Ludwick restored a 5-4 Cincinnati lead in the fifth with a
run-scoring groundout to second. But that was it for the Reds'
offense.
"A resilient effort by our offense," Matheny summed up. "We kept
coming, fighting, plugging away. We kept our head down and kept
going. Well played by the guys."
NOTES: Cincinnati activated RHP Jonathan Broxton (forearm) from the
15-day disabled list Tuesday, a move that could strengthen a shaky
bullpen. Broxton pitched two scoreless innings during the weekend in
a rehab assignment with Double-A Pensacola. ... St. Louis 1B Matt
Adams came into Tuesday night's game with a .474 average on balls in
play, good for seventh in the National League. His overall average
rose to .367 after a 2-for-4 outing. ... The Reds placed RHP Trevor
Bell on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. Bell
pitched Monday, allowing four hits and two runs in two-thirds of an
inning.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
