With a career 4.93 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro is by many metrics just about the definition of a replacement-level player. In his last start, though, vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, Mazzaro shut the Redbirds out over six innings, only relinquishing five hits. But, tonight has been different. The Cardinals jumped all over Mazarro, sticking him with seven earned runs in 1.1 innings.
The Cardinals put up four runs in the first inning, thanks to a double from Carlos Beltran, a single from Yadier Molina and a sacrifice fly from Matt Carpenter. In the second inning, St. Louis put up six runs, three of which came off of reliever Roman Colon. Those runs came on doubles from Beltran, David Freese and Tyler Greene.
In the fourth, Skip Schumaker added the Cardinals' 11th run with another double. Cardinals starter Joe Kelly, meanwhile, has only allowed a single run over three innings.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos. For more news and notes from around MLB, check out Baseball Nation.