Pham, Fowler lead Cardinals past Twins

[May 17, 2018]  Tommy Pham homered and Dexter Fowler knocked in two runs Wednesday as the St. Louis Cardinals salvaged a split of their interleague series with the Minnesota Twins, earning a 7-5 win at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Matt Carpenter added three hits, including a pair of doubles, and an RBI for St. Louis, which was outscored 17-2 this year in its first three meetings with Minnesota before running into old teammate Lance Lynn.

A rough early season got no better for Lynn (1-4), who needed a whopping 82 pitches to negotiate three innings. Lynn, making his first start against the Cardinals after pitching for them the last seven years, allowed four hits and three runs with four walks and five strikeouts. His earned run average plumped up to 7.47.

Lynn found trouble right away in the first. Fowler lined a two-out, two-run single into center that scored Pham and Jose Martinez. Fastball inaccuracy haunted Lynn throughout his stint, as he needed 34 pitches to get three outs.

Max Kepler drilled an RBI single in the bottom of the first, but Martinez made it 3-1 in the second with a two-out run-scoring single. Joe Mauer got that run back in the bottom of the second with an RBI single.

Paul DeJong laced a run-producing double in the fifth that made it a 4-2 game, but Logan Morrison pulled Minnesota within a run again by lining his fifth homer of the year in the sixth, an opposite field shot to the seats in left.

Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham (28) celebrates his solo home run with designated hitter Jose Martinez (38) against the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis tacked on two runs in the seventh on Jedd Gyorko's RBI single and Carpenter's run-scoring double to the right field corner. Pham cracked a solo shot to right-center in the eighth that gave the Cardinals a 7-3 margin.

The Twins drew within two runs in their half of the eighth on an RBI single by Morrison and a wild pitch by Bud Norris that scored Mitch Garver. But Norris retired all five batters he faced for his ninth save in as many chances.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas lasted just 4 2/3 innings, permitting seven hits and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Jordan Hicks (2-1) pitched a scoreless seventh to garner the win.

--Field Level Media

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