|
 "We put up good at-bats against him," Molina said. "It seemed like
everyone was focused in real good."
Scoring five runs in the inning -- or more than it had scored in
each of their last six games -- St. Louis went on to a 7-4 win at
Busch Stadium.
Benefiting from the support was starter John Lackey (4-3), who
scattered 10 hits in seven innings, giving up three runs. In beating
Milwaukee for the second time this year, Lackey walked one and
fanned five.
"It was a weird situation," he said. "You want to throw strikes and
they were swinging a lot, but you just can't throw it right down the
middle. You still have to make quality pitches."
Something that Nelson (2-6) simply couldn't do in the first inning,
when the first six batters reached base. Second baseman Kolten Wong
doubled, third baseman Matt Carpenter singled and left fielder Matt
Holliday walked to fill the bases.
Shortstop Jhonny Peralta lined an RBI single up the middle, followed
by a fielding error by third baseman Hector Gomez on what could have
been a double-play ball off the bat of left fielder Randal Grichuk.
After a run-scoring single by first baseman Mark Reynolds, Molina
and right fielder Jason Heyward tacked on sacrifice flies to cap the
uprising.
"It's pretty good when the first eight guys either get a hit or do
something situationally to help us score runs," Cardinals manager
Mike Matheny said. "It's a great way to start your day and get John
support."
Lackey wasn't as dominant as he was in a 3-0 win over the Los
Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, when he fanned nine in seven
shutout innings. But he made it through the first five innings
allowing just one run on a solo homer in the third by right fielder
Gerardo Parra.
Carpenter finished St. Louis' scoring in the fourth by stroking a
first-pitch, two-run single to right with the bases loaded, upping
its lead to 7-1 and giving him a National League-best 23 multi-hit
games.
Gomez doubled home a run in the top of the sixth but departed in the
bottom of the inning on a scary play. Chasing Heyward's foul popup
that found the seats behind third, Gomez was upended by the low
railing separating the stands from the field and hit his head on the
aisle between sections.
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After a delay of close to five minutes, Gomez walked off the field
under his own power but was removed for precautionary reasons. Tests
for a concussion proved negative and Gomez said he would be ready
for the Brewers' next game on Friday night in Minnesota.
"I was laying there and I knew I was all right," said Gomez, who was
smiling and laughing with reporters as he was interviewed. "I could
have stayed in there, no problem."
First baseman Adam Lind knocked in a run with an infield out in the
seventh and delivered an RBI single off closer Trevor Rosenthal in
the ninth, allowing Milwaukee (18-36) to bring the tying run to the
plate.
But catcher Jonathan Lucroy rolled into a game-ending 5-4-3 double
play, giving Rosenthal his 17th save in 18 chances.
The Cardinals (35-18) improved to 22-7 at home, finishing their
nine-game homestand at 7-2, and take MLB's best record to Los
Angeles for a four-game series with the Dodgers that starts Thursday
night.
"We're winning a different way every night," Molina said. "That's
good. When you're wanting to win a World Series, that's how you have
to do it. We won with pitching (Tuesday) night and it was the
offense today."
NOTES: Milwaukee recalled OF Shane Peterson from Triple-A Colorado
Springs and started him in the sixth position, playing left field.
Peterson hit .320 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 47 games for
Colorado Springs. ... Monday and Tuesday night's games were the
first back-to-back 1-0 games played by St. Louis since it started
the 2014 season in Cincinnati, winning on Opening Day and losing two
nights later. ... To make room for Peterson, the Brewers optioned
Tuesday night's starter, RHP Tyler Cravy, to Colorado Springs. Cravy
allowed one run and four hits in seven innings but took the loss.
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