Wednesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 10, Mets 5
By Rob Rains
To understand that this season has not started out the way Dylan Carlson had hoped, it is necessary to only look at one at-bat from Wednesday’s game.
With one swing, a triple that drove in two runs in the fourth inning, Carlson matched his RBI total for the season and his total number of extra-base hits from his previous 53 at-bats.
“Fighting through it for sure,” said Carlson, who carried a .194 average into the game at Busch Stadium. “Lot of great guys in this clubhouse give advice and wisdom, so just going out there and making adjustments.
“Timing in hitting is one of the main components, so when your timing is off you’ve got to compensate in other areas to make up for it. Things aren’t always as smooth. Hopefully today was a good start.”
Carlson’s triple was the biggest hit in a five-run fourth which propelled the Cardinals to the win over the Mets, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Carlson also had one of the defensive plays of the game when he fielded a ball after it bounced off the center-field wall and threw out Luis Guillormi on the fly at third base in the sixth.
“The initial thought off the bat was to catch the ball, but that didn’t happen and then it turned into a different play,” Carlson said. “I just came up throwing … in that situation I was just trying to make an accurate throw.”
Carlson had to come out of the game in the eighth inning after jamming his toe earlier in the game, but he said he expects to be ready to play on Thursday night.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The five-run inning was the biggest of the season for the Cardinals and turned a 4-3 disadvantage into an 8-4 lead … Yadier Molina and Tommy Edman doubled in the inning, one run scored on a wild pitch and one on a slow roller hit by Corey Dickerson … Dickerson, who started in right field while Carlson moved to center, also singled in a run in the first … Nolan Arenado, serving as the DH, drove in three runs with a single in the third and a double in the sixth … The 10 runs tied the most in a game this season and their 15 hits was a season high … The streak without a home run reached 241 at-bats, now covering seven games, their longest streak without a home run since an eight-game stretch in 2014.
On the mound: Steven Matz gave up four runs on five hits in the second inning and needed 97 pitches to get through four innings … Jake Woodford earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief … The Mets’ final run scored in the eighth off Genesis Cabrera before Ryan Helsley worked a 1-2-3 ninth.
Key stat: Arenado served as the DH and his three RBIs were two more than the Cardinals had gotten out of that spot for the last eight games combined. Coming into the game the DH spot had produced a .197 average with two homers (both by Albert Pujols) and seven RBIs in the first 16 games.
Worth noting: Arenado and first-base coach Stubby Clapp were ejected after getting upset when Arenado was almost hit by a pitch in the eighth, prompting both benches to clear. It was a carryover from Tuesday night, when several players on both teams were hit by pitches … The Cardinals got stolern bases from Tyler O’Neill and Edman and have now been successful on their last 15 steal attempts and are 17 out of 18 for the season. The only player caught stealing was Pujols … The Mets have not swept a three-game series in St. Louis since 2007 … Jordan Hicks said his right wrist felt “much better” on Wednesday after he was hit by a line drive on Tuesday night. He said he anticipates that he will be able to make his next scheduled start on Sunday.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will open a four-game series against the Diamondbacks on Thursday night, with Dakota Hudson getting the start.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
