The St. Louis Cardinals, now with just three games remaining on their 2012 Grapefruit League Schedule, beat the New York Mets 4-3 on Friday afternoon. The Cards benefited from a strong performance from SP Kyle Lohse (W, 3-1), who pitched 6.0 solid innings, striking out 7 and walking only 1 batter. The Mets offense struggled against Lohse and managed only one unearned run off the righty.
The chief offensive contributions on the day came from 1B Matt Carpenter -- who went 2 for 4 with a double and a solo home run -- and LF Matt Holliday -- who went 2 for 4 with a par of singles. The Cards also got a key double from pinch hitter Adam Melker, a double which pushed their lead to 4-1 in the 6th inning.
The three-run cushion proved just enough as RP Fernando Salas failed to record an out in the 8th inning, walking 1 batter and allowing 3 hits and 2 ER to put the Cardinals lead at 4-3. RP Victor Marte (S, 3) relieved Salas and pitched the final two frames to close out the St. Louis win.
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