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 Unlike last weekend in Pittsburgh, though, the St. Louis Cardinals
closer survived to push his team into the win column.
Fanning pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr. with his 33rd pitch of the
ninth inning on Friday night, Rosenthal notched his 27th save in 29
chances as St. Louis held off the New York Mets 3-2 at sold-out
Busch Stadium.
After giving up a tying run in the 10th inning of a 14-inning loss
Saturday night and then blowing the save in a 6-5, 10-inning loss on
Sunday night against the Pirates, Rosenthal walked the tightrope
again in his first outing after the All-Star break.
"You want to go out and have nine pitches and three strikeouts every
outing," Rosenthal said. "But it happens. It's part of the game."
New York didn't exactly batter Rosenthal around the ballpark. First
baseman Lucas Duda grounded a one-out single past diving second
baseman Kolten Wong and catcher Kevin Plawecki singled off the glove
of Wong, who ranged near the right field line in an attempt to haul
in the pop fly.
After a two-out wild pitch moved both runners up, shortstop Ruben
Tejada's dribbler eked past Rosenthal for an RBI infield single that
pushed pinch-runner Eric Campbell to third.
But on his ninth pitch to Mayberry, Rosenthal iced him with an 88
mph changeup -- the same pitch he bounced past catcher Yadier Molina
on the wild pitch.
"If Yadi feels confident with it, I'm confident with it," Rosenthal
said.
It preserved the Cardinals' 32nd win in 43 home games, boosting
their record to 57-33 and putting them 3 1/2 games ahead of second
place Pittsburgh in the National League Central.
It also put starter Lance Lynn (7-5) back in the win column. After
starting the game by yielding a 418-foot homer to right fielder
Curtis Granderson, Lynn dominated the punchless Mets for the
remainder of the night.
Entering the game with a measly .233 team batting average, New York
(47-43) managed just two more hits and a walk until Lynn departed
after the seventh inning. Lynn fanned nine, the fourth time he has
done it this year.
"I threw a 3-1 heater down the middle and he did what he's supposed
to do with it," Lynn said of Granderson. "Once I started getting
ahead in the count, I was good to go."
St. Louis finally cracked Mets starter Noah Syndergaard (4-5) in the
sixth. Wong manufactured the first run with a bloop single, then
stole second and moved to third on Plawecki's throwing error before
scoring on a groundout by third baseman Matt Carpenter.
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One out later, shortstop Jhonny Peralta cracked his 14th homer of
the year, just over the glove of left fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and
the Cardinals were ahead for good.
Syndergaard gave up five hits and two runs in his seven innings,
walking one and fanning six as he lowered his ERA to 3.05.
"I'm getting more confident in pitching on the road," said
Syndergaard, who fell to 0-4 in away starts. "I had the confidence I
needed to start the second half on a high note but fell short
tonight."
St. Louis center fielder Peter Bourjos, inserted for defense in the
top of the eighth, gave his team the insurance run that made the
difference in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double to center
that scored Wong.
New York manager Terry Collins watched that one from his office. He
was booted by home plate umpire Chad Fairchild in the top of the
seventh for arguing balls and strikes, his third ejection of the
year.
"We looked up at the end of the game and we had a chance to win,"
Collins said.
NOTES: St. Louis activated LF Matt Holliday (right quad) from the
15-day DL on Friday and placed him in the lineup, batting third. LHP
Nick Greenwood was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to make room for
Holliday, who was hitting .303 with three homers and 26 RBIs before
his injury on June 8 in Colorado. ... New York C Travis d'Arnaud
(left elbow) took a few swings in batting practice on Friday and
caught, but there is no timetable for his return from an injury
suffered June 20 in a home plate collision with Atlanta C A.J.
Pierzynski. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (groin) won't start until
at least next weekend. LHP Tim Cooney will take his turn in the
rotation on Sunday.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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