Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 8, Rockies 5
By Rob Rains
Dylan Carlson picked a great time for his first RBI of the season – and for his second and third as well.
After missing the first month of games because of a shoulder injury, Carlson had gone 6-of-47 to start his season coming into Friday night’s game. After being retired in his first two at-bats, Carlson came up with two outs in the sixth inning with the Cardinals trailing the Rockies 5-4.
Carlson came through with a single to drive in Ivan Herrera from third and tie the game. In his next at-bat in the eighth, his first double of the season drove in two insurance runs and capped the Cardinals’ win at Busch Stadium.
The hits helped the Cardinals rally to get the win in a game they led 4-0 after the second inning, only to see the Rockies come back to tie the game and then take the lead.
Carlson’s two-RBI double capped a three-run eighth, with Brendan Donovan’s RBI single driving in the go-ahead run.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals opened the first inning with three consecutive hits off Austin Gomber, then got a sacrifice fly from Nolan Arenado and another RBI single from Nolan Gorman to take a 3-0 lead. Paul Goldschmidt’s second hit and second RBI of the game in the second increased the lead to 4-0 … The Cardinals did not have another hit until Herrera’ single in the sixth as the Rockies retired 11 consecutive batters … Five players finished with two hits in the Cardinals’ 12-hit attack.
On the mound: Lance Lynn could not protect the 4-0 lead as the Rockies tied the game in the fourth, the big blow a bases-loaded triple by Michael Toglia that turned into a Little League grand slam on a throwing error by Gorman … Kyle Leahy gave up the go-ahead run in the fifth … John King, JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge kept the game tied through the eighth before Ryan Helsley came on earn his 21st save with a 1-2-3 ninth, ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
Key stat: After getting a combined seven hits with a runner in scoring position over their last five games, over 35 at-bats, the Cardinals were 7-of-12 with a runner on second or third in the game.
Worth noting: Just a month after undergoing surgery for his broken arm, Willson Contreras was medically cleared to begin baseball activities on Friday and caught a bullpen before the game. There still is no timetable for when Contreras will be able to return to the lineup, but he clearly is ahead of the original prediction that he would be out until after the All-Star break … Steven Matz wa happy with how his two innings of work for Memphis went on Thursday night. He is scheduled to make a second rehab start next week.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson is the scheduled starter for Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. game.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
