Cards beat Phillies, but Garcia, Wacha go on DL

[June 23, 2014]  ST. LOUIS -- One win, two losses.
 
 Minutes after closing its longest homestand of the year with a come-from-behind 5-3 win over Philadelphia at Busch Stadium, St. Louis put 40 percent of its starting pitching on the disabled list.

Left-hander Jaime Garcia (shoulder) and right-hander Michael Wacha (stress reaction in scapula) are headed for the disabled list, meaning the Cardinals will head for the start of a 10-game road trip in Colorado on Monday night with a shorthanded pitching staff that is now in flux.

"I wish we could take a 20-man staff to Colorado," manager Mike Matheny said moments before general manager John Mozeliak broke the news. "It's always a tough assignment out there."

Shortstop Jhonny Peralta, whose two-run single keyed a four-run bottom of the fourth that allowed St. Louis (41-35) to overcome a 3-0 deficit, didn't hear of the news until a reporter asked him about it after the game.

"I know they're hurt and you hate to see that," Peralta said. "But they are coming back and hopefully, it will be soon. People get hurt ... you just have to keep playing the game."

Right-hander Carlos Martinez (1-3), whose two spot starts this week have now turned into a longer gig with Garcia and Wacha going on the shelf, shrugged off a three-run double by third baseman Cody Asche in the second to retire 12 of the last 13 men he faced.

Martinez allowed only three hits and three runs over five innings, walking one and whiffing five. He threw 50 of his 74 pitches for strikes and needed just 30 pitches to sail through his last three innings.

"I thought he did a nice job of recovering from that inning," Matheny said of Martinez. "I thought he picked up his rhythm a little bit. I thought he did a good job of making some minor adjustments to get his rhythm back."

Meanwhile, the Cardinals got Kyle Kendrick out of his groove after the Phillies starter mowed down 10 of his first 11 hitters.

Loading the bases in the fourth, St. Louis got an RBI single from center fielder Jon Jay, Peralta's first-pitch hit and a squeeze bunt from second baseman Mark Ellis to take the lead for good.

"It's hard when you're losing 3-0 early in the game, but we just tried to stay positive," Peralta said. "The whole year, we haven't scored a lot of runs. But we bounced back today and we're happy with that."

Ellis, who will see most of the playing time at second with starter Kolten Wong (shoulder) on the disabled list, tacked on an insurance run in the sixth with a two-out RBI single to right.

Four relievers picked up the final 12 outs for Martinez, with closer Trevor Rosenthal working around Asche's one-out single in the ninth for his 22nd save in 25 opportunities.

Kendrick (3-7) gave up eight hits and five runs over six innings with a walk and two strikeouts for Philadelphia (34-40), which lost its second straight game after opening its road trip with a season-high five-game winning streak.

"We've played much better baseball the last 12 or 13 days," manager Ryne Sandberg said of the Phillies, who are 9-4 in their last 13 games. "That's the path we want to continue down."

As for the Cardinals, they have to make their way down the road without some key parts.

"It's concerning," Mozeliak said. "We're putting two pitchers on the DL today and we're not in a position where we know when they're coming back. It does leave us in a little bit of a gray area."

NOTES: Saturday's 4-1 win over Philadelphia prevented St. Louis from its first four-game losing streak of the year. The Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers are the only major-league teams to avoid four-game losing streaks in 2014. ... Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins and 2B Chase Utley made their 1,133rd start Sunday as a double-play combination, most among all active duos in Major League Baseball. ... St. Louis RHP Trevor Rosenthal's 21st save Saturday tied last year's closer, Edward Mujica, for third-most by a Cardinal in the team's first 75 games. Lee Smith (29 in 1993) and Jason Isringhausen (24 in 2006) rank 1 and 2, respectively.

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