St. Louis Cardinals Try to Bounce Back Against Indians in Cleveland
May 12, 2015 (Sports Network) — Coming off a rare series loss, the St. Louis Cardinals turn their attention to the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game set Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
The Cardinals suffered back-to-back defeats in Pittsburgh over the weekend as they wound up losing their first series of the 2015 season.
St. Louis committed three errors in Sunday’s 4-3 setback. Matt Holliday reached base for the 29th straight game and Kolten Wong hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning, but reliever Mitch Harris took the loss after giving up a run in the seventh on a pair of walks and a hit.
“Harris has been very good for us this year, and he’s been attacking the strike zone,” manager Mike Matheny said. “It just hasn’t been something we’ve seen an issue with. And I predict he’s going to continue to be good for us.”
Despite the tough weekend, the Cardinals continue to own the best record in the majors at 22-9. They also had a chance to rest up with Monday’s off day, and the team will now be getting Matt Carpenter back in the lineup. Carpenter, hitting .333 with a league-high 14 doubles this season, was not with the team in Pittsburgh this weekend due to “extreme fatigue.” It’s possible Matheny will take advantage of the designated hitter slot with Matheny as he gets his legs back under him.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is looking to climb its way out of the basement in the American League Central Division. The Indians, who were also idle on Monday, snapped a three-game slide on Sunday with an 8-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins to avoid being swept at home.
Starter Danny Salazar served up a leadoff home run to start the game, but then retired the final 21 batters he faced to improve to 4-1. The right-hander went on to rack up a career-high 11 strikeouts with no walks over seven innings.
“I think he got upset with himself, and we saw what happened,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He really kicked it in gear, and besides velocity, his changeup, his breaking ball, he really had everything working. And it was nice, we gave him a little cushion. That’s a nice way to pitch, too.”
Francona will give the ball to Carlos Carrasco to start Tuesday’s series opener. The right-hander owns a 6.23 ERA over his last three starts yet is seeking his third win in as many tries. He went a season-best seven innings in Kansas City his last time out and yielded three runs on five hits, striking out six and walking two.
For St. Louis, Lance Lynn will try to end a four-start winless streak. The right-hander has a 3.82 ERA on the season and has fanned 42 batters in 35 1/3 innings with only 10 walks, although his 1-3 record is largely due to a lack of run support.
Still, Lynn has had some issues of his own. Normally known as an innings- eater, he has completed seven innings just once this season. And after allowing three or fewer runs in 19 straight games, Lynn has given up five or more in two of his last three. He was tagged for five runs on eight hits against Cleveland in his most recent outing.
These teams have not faced each other since the 2012 season.
[SportsNetwork.com]
