SB Nation St. Louis - Sweep Happens! Cardinals Take Series, NL Centralhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49009/stl-fave.png2010-07-18T17:00:17-05:00http://stlouis.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13364582010-07-18T17:00:17-05:002010-07-18T17:00:17-05:00Matt Holliday, Allen Craig Carry Cardinals To Comeback Win
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<p>St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – Matt Holliday’s two-out <span class="caps">RBI</span> single capped a two-run rally in the ninth, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium.</p>
<p>Entering the ninth protecting a one-run lead, Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton (3-1) couldn’t hang on. Yadier Molina, who didn’t start due to a scheduled game off, singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After left fielder Xavier Paul made a running grab on Felipe Lopez’s fly ball, Jon Jay kept the game alive with a walk.</p>
<p>Allen Craig followed with a single up the middle, scoring Molina without a throw, and Holliday laced a Broxton offering off the wall in right to plate the game-winner in Jay.</p>
<p>Craig finished with two hits and three <span class="caps">RBI</span> for the Cardinals, who have won five straight and evened the all-time series between these storied franchises at 998-998-16. Randy Winn added two hits and an <span class="caps">RBI</span> in the win.</p>
<p>Ryan Franklin (4-1) earned the win for tossing a scoreless ninth inning.</p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/2010/7/18/1575861/matt-holliday-allen-craig-comebackDan Moore2010-07-17T15:41:58-05:002010-07-17T15:41:58-05:00Adam Wainwright, 13-5, Leads Cardinals Against Dodgers
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<p>(Sports Network) – Adam Wainwright will try to become just the second 14-game winner in the major leagues and remain perfect at home when he leads the St. Louis Cardinals into the third test of a four-game series tonight versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium.</p>
<p>Colorado Rockies ace and All-Star starter Ubaldo Jimenez leads the big leagues with 15 wins, while Wainwright is second with a 13-5 record and 2.11 earned run average in 19 starts. Wainwright is an All-Star himself and has won three straight and seven of his last nine starts, including an 8-0 win at Houston on July 9. He fired eight scoreless innings and struck out four batters.</p>
<p>The right-hander is 9-0 with a 1.43 <span class="caps">ERA</span> in nine home starts and may run into some trouble today versus a Dodgers club that beat him back on June 9 at Chavez Ravine. Wainwright allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings of a 4-3 setback, falling to 2-3 in nine career games (6 starts) against LA.</p>
<p>St. Louis has won three in a row and the first two portions of this series, including Friday’s 8-4 triumph behind a two-run homer and four <span class="caps">RBI</span> from Yadier Molina. Randy Winn drove in a pair of runs and Felipe Lopez ended 2-for-5 with an <span class="caps">RBI</span> for the Cardinals, who are still a half-game behind Cincinnati for the top spot in the NL Central.</p>
<p>“We’ve done a good job of getting the count in our favor and when the ball’s in the strike zone we’ve been aggressive with it,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We’ve done a good job of forcing near the middle of the plate and getting good hacks.”</p>
<p>Jaime Garcia started for La Russa’s club and did not record a decision after giving up two runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Kyle McClellan earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.</p>
<p>The Cardinals will also host Philadelphia for four games after this set.</p>
<p>Los Angeles has lost two straight and three of four games, and sits tied with San Francisco at 3 1/2 games off the NL West lead. In last night’s loss to the Cards, Chad Billingsley was roughed up for seven runs and 10 hits in four innings to absorb the loss.</p>
<p>“They put the ball in play, found holes and made things happen,” Billingsley said. “It was one of those days.”</p>
<p>James Loney had three hits and an <span class="caps">RBI</span>, while Rafael Furcal and Matt Kemp both finished with two hits and knocked in a run for LA. Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez left the game in the first inning because of a calf injury and is listed as day-to-day. Ramirez was just activated from the 15-day disabled list this week due to a hamstring ailment.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda has been struggling for a while and will take the mound Saturday at Busch Stadium. Kuroda is 2-6 with a 4.96 earned run average in his last nine starts and has lost back-to-back trips to the mound.</p>
<p>In a 4-0 loss to Florida on July 7, Kuroda was pounded for four runs and six hits in seven innings, while striking out four batters. The loss evened Kuroda’s mark at 7-7 in 17 starts this season and raised his <span class="caps">ERA</span> to 3.87.</p>
<p>The Japanese right-hander, who is 4-4 in eight road starts this season, did not factor into the outcome of a 1-0 win over St. Louis on June 8. Kuroda delivered seven shutout frames and six K’s for the no-decision that day and is 0-0 with a 1.38 <span class="caps">ERA</span> in two career starts in this series.</p>
<p>The Dodgers swept a three-game set at home versus the Cardinals from June 7-9 after losing five of seven to the club last season.</p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/2010/7/17/1574787/adam-wainwright-leads-cardinals-dodgersDan Moore2010-07-15T22:29:17-05:002010-07-15T22:29:17-05:00Cardinals' Second Half Starts Off Right: Carpenter Cuts Down Dodgers 7-1
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<p><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - <span>Chris Carpenter</span> pitched eight strong innings and remained unbeaten against the <a style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #c61c17; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/LOS" class="sbn-auto-link">Dodgers</a>, and the <a style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #c61c17; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/STL" class="sbn-auto-link">St. Louis Cardinals</a> started the post All-Star break with a 7-1 win in the opener of a four-game series.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Carpenter (10-3), who had lost his previous two starts, allowing a total of 18 hits and 11 earned runs over nine innings, was marvelous Thursday night. The right-hander permitted four hits, including a homer by <span>Andre Ethier</span> in the fourth inning, and moved to 6-0 in eight lifetime starts against the Dodgers. Carpenter, who had six strikeouts without walking a batter, upped his mark to 19-4 lifetime against NL West clubs.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span>Albert Pujols</span> had three hits and scored once, while <span>Allen Craig</span> knocked in two runs for the Cardinals, who lost four of their last six games just prior to the break. They're within a half-game of Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Ethier had two hits for Los Angeles, which had won three of four against the <a style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #c61c17; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/CHC" class="sbn-auto-link">Cubs</a> just prior to the unofficial midseason point.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span>Manny Ramirez</span>, who had been out since June 29 due to a strained right hamstring, was activated off the disabled list and went 0-for-3.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span>Clayton Kershaw</span> (9-5) was charged with eight hits and five runs -- four earned -- over 4 1/3 innings to have a two-start winning streak snapped.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">St. Louis loaded the bases with nobody out in the opening inning before <span>Matt Holliday</span> and Craig each knocked in runs via fielder's choice ground balls.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Ethier homered to right-center with one out in the fourth, but the Cardinals tacked on two runs in the bottom of the inning. <span>Yadier Molina</span> singled to left and went to second on Ramirez's error. <span>Aaron Miles</span> followed with an RBI single to left. Miles went to second on the throw home and scored on <span>Felipe Lopez</span>'s two-out double to left.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Pujols doubled to start the fifth and scored on Craig's sacrifice fly to center.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span>Jon Jay</span> extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double in the seventh inning, and he scored on Molina's base hit to center.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">St. Louis has an 18-4 home mark in the last 22 regular season games against the Dodgers...The Cardinals handed general manager John Mozeliak a three-year contract extension on Thursday, keeping him in St. Louis through the 2013 campaign...St. Louis placed outfielder <span>Nick Stavinoha</span> on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder. The team also recalled Craig from Triple- A Memphis. The Cardinals also announced right-handed pitcher <span>Adam Ottavino</span>, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 4, will undergo a procedure to repair a tear in his throwing shoulder...Ramirez went 0-for-9 with five strikeouts during a three-game rehab stint with Single-A Inland Empire from Sunday-Tuesday. The Dodgers opened a roster spot for Ramirez by placing outfielder <span>Reed Johnson</span> on the 15-day DL with a lower back injury.</p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/2010/7/15/2317936/cardinals-second-half-starts-off-right-carpenter-cuts-down-dodgers-7-1Dan Moore