After defeating the Cincinnati Reds two games out of three on the road, the St. Louis Cardinals continued their road trip, heading to Milwaukee to face the Brewers in a National League Central division three game series as well.
And in game one of the series, the Cardinals controlled the whole night, winning their 70th game of the season.
The starting pitchers for the match-up were Lance Lynn (8-6, 2.89 ERA), and Tyler Cravy (0-2, 3.60) for the Brewers.
In what was a shutout throughout the first four innings of the game, St. Louis finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. And they got on the board big. It started with a lead-off double by Brandon Moss. Stephen Piscotty then hit an RBI-double, scoring Moss to make it 1-0 Cardinals
But that was just the beginning.
Following a Lynn strikeout, Matt Carpenter continued his positive output when being in the lead-off spot, hitting an RBI-double of his own, to score Piscotty. Kolten Wong walked next, and Jhonny Peralta lined out. With two outs, Jason Heyward singled, to score Carpenter, making it 3-0. Randal Grichuk then stepped up to the plate, and, he kept his hot streak going, by hitting a three-run home run, to make it a 6-0 Cardinals lead.
And that was more than enough for the Cardinals’ top notch pitching.
While Lynn struggled with command of his fastball on Friday night, it didn’t stop him from keeping the last-place Brewers in check, striking out seven batters during the evening. Carlos Villanueva entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to replace Lynn, as the veteran starter’s final line of the evening was: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 Ks.
Villanueva pitched the last three innings, allowing no runs and no hits in the process, as the Cardinals defeated the Brewers 6-0, en route to their 70th win. Last year, their 70th win didn’t come until August 23rd.
Lynn improved to 9-6 on the year, while Cravy fell to 0-3. The Cardinals now are 70-39, while the Brewers are 47-64. Grichuk’s home run was his 14th of the season, as he continues to make his case for NL Rookie of the Year.
On Saturday night, Jaime Garcia will get the start.
(Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
