Tuesday’s Game Report: Rockies 8, Cardinals 4
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals got an outstanding pitching performance on Tuesday night but it didn’t come from starter Erick Fedde.
Fedde’s struggles continued as he allowed six runs in just three innings in the Cardinals’ loss to the Rockies in Denver. Fedde fell to 0-7 in his 12 starts since his last win on May 9 and his ERA in that stretch is 6.38.
It was the pitcher who followed Fedde to the mound, Kyle Leahy, who had the big night.
Leahy, a Colorado native, allowed three hits and one run over 3 2/3 innings with seven of his 11 outs coming on strikeouts.
By the time Leahy entered the game, however, the Cardinals were losing 6-0 as their early-inning troubles on the current road trip continued. In the first five games of the trip, to Arizona and Colorado, the Cardinals have been outscored 24-1 in the first three innings and they have lost four of the five games.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals cut the deficit to 6-2 in the fourth on a single by Alec Burleson, a double by Willson Contreras, a groundout from Nolan Arenado and a single by Masyn Winn … Brendan Donovan doubled in a run in the seventh and back-to-back doubles from Jordan Walker and pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo produced the final run in the eighth … Pozo is now 5-of-9 as a pinch-hitter this season … The Cardinals had 11 hits but were just 2-of-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners … The team did not have a strikeout until the final out of the game, when Contreras was called out.
On the mound: Fedde gave up a home run to the second batter of the game, Mickey Moniak, gave up two runs in the second after a leadoff walk and then allowed a three-run homer to Ryan McMahon in the third … The only run allowed by Leahy came on a two-out double and a single in the fifth … Riley O’Brien walked in the final Colorado run in the eighth.
Key stat: The Cardinals have hit 13 home runs in 539 at-bats in July; the only team with less is the Pirates with six. This was the 44th time in 102 games this season that they failed to hit a home run, and their record in those games is 14-30.
Worth noting: Burleson was not in the original lineup after fouling a pitch off his right foot on Monday night but after batting practice he said he could play and was inserted into the lineup in place of Thomas Saggese. Burleson reached base four times with two hits, was hit by another pitch and walked … The Cardinals made no announcement about Michael McGreevy’s immediate future following his start on Monday night but he was still with the team in Colorado … Top prospect JJ Wetherholt homered for Memphis on Tuesday night and is hitting .360 in Triple A.
Up next: Andre Pallante will get the start on Wednesday in the final game of the series and road trip. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. St. Louis time.
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