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 The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander worked 7 1/3 strong innings,
helping his team avoid a series sweep by earning a 2-1 win at Busch
Stadium.
Lynn (3-3) allowed six hits and one run while walking two and
fanning seven in a 119-pitch outing, his longest this year in terms
of innings and pitches. He went at Detroit, which racked up 50 hits
in its previous three games, mostly with heaters that touched 94 mph
and seemed to get better as the game progressed.
"That's usually how I roll," Lynn said. "I wasn't paying attention
to my pitch count. I was just trying to get people out."
Lynn gave up his only run in the first when first baseman Miguel
Cabrera laced an RBI double to the wall in right-center, scoring
third baseman Ian Kinsler. The Tigers (23-15) taxed Lynn for 25
pitches in the first and 72 through four as seven of their first 14
hitters grinded out at-bats of at least seven pitches.
However, Lynn became more efficient in later innings, picking up a
handful of quick outs. After the Tigers scored their early run, Lynn
allowed just one runner to reach third base. That happened in the
seventh as catcher James McCann doubled and moved up on a groundout,
but Lynn overpowered pinch hitter Victor Martinez with a 1-0
fastball and got him to foul out.
"He was great, no question about it," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny
said of Lynn. "That's what you want from a guy who wants to take
charge of the staff. He bowed his neck."
Detroit finally forced Lynn out in the eighth after he issued
consecutive one-out walks to Kinsler and Cabrera, but reliever Seth
Maness came in and ended the rally with one pitch, inducing a 5-4-3
double play from right fielder J.D. Martinez.
Closer Trevor Rosenthal wrapped it up in the ninth, working around
McCann's two-out single for his 13th save in 14 opportunities as St.
Louis (25-12) upped its National League Central lead over the
second-place Chicago Cubs to four games.
Offensively, the Cardinals squandered most of their opportunities,
getting two men thrown out at the plate and stranding 10.
However, second baseman Kolten Wong rendered all of that meaningless
with one swing in the sixth inning. Jumping on a first-pitch
fastball right down the middle from Tigers starter Alfredo Simon
(4-2), Wong whacked a 434-foot homer over the St. Louis bullpen into
the seats in right-center.
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"That was hit well," Wong said of his fifth homer. "I just stayed
short and quick to the ball, stayed compact."
Lynn made a surprising contribution for the Cardinals' other run,
slicing an RBI single down the right field line in the third after
center fielder Peter Bourjos led off with a triple. It was just the
seventh hit in 71 at-bats for St. Louis pitchers, three by Lynn.
Simon worked in and out of trouble most of the night, giving up
seven hits and four walks over six innings but just two runs. He
fanned four but failed to win for the fourth straight start.
Detroit's three-game winning streak ended, mainly because its
collection of fastball hitters simply couldn't make solid contact
with a fastball pitcher.
"It was a well-pitched game, and we ran into a good pitcher," Tigers
manager Brad Ausmus said.
NOTES: St. Louis recalled RHP Sam Tuivailala from Memphis and
optioned LHP Tyler Lyons to the Triple-A club. Tuivailala was 2-0
with a 2.13 ERA in 12 outings at Memphis. Lyons didn't pick up a
decision in three starts for St. Louis. ... After his game-winning
single in the 10th inning Saturday, Detroit SS Jose Iglesias was
batting .472 (17-for-36) from the seventh inning on. That mark
dropped to .447 after outs in the seventh and ninth inning Sunday
night. ... The Cardinals announced that LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder)
would come off the 15-day disabled list to start Thursday at the New
York Mets. Garcia pitched six innings in a rehab start Friday night
for Double-A Springfield.
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