After playing their last 36 innings without a lead, the Cardinals didn’t waste any time in doing something about that on Monday night in Arizona.
Matt Carpenter doubled on the game’s first pitch and Yadier Molina had a two-run single in a four-run first inning that sent the Cardinals past the Diamondbacks, snapping their four-game losing streak.
Molina and Jedd Gyorko later hit back-to-back homers to back a solid start from Carlos Martinez.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: After Molina’s bases-loaded single, Jedd Gyorko singled in a run and Yairo Munoz capped the biggest first inning for the Cardinals since June 3 with an RBI double … The Cardinals had only two more hits before Molina homered to lead off the sixth, his 12th of the season, followed by Gyorko’s sixth of the year … Tyler O’Neill was in the lineup in right field, hitting third, and had a single, in the first-inning outburst, in four at-bats.
On the mound: Martinez gave up a run in the first inning before retiring 11 of the next 13 hitters he faced until a leadoff walk in the fifth led to the Diamondbacks’ second run, coming on one of Paul Goldschmidt’s four singles. Martinez worked six innings, allowing six hits, walking two and striking out seven … The final Arizona run scored off Greg Holland in the eighth but was unearned because of a throwing error on Kolten Wong.
Key stat: Despite missing a month of the season because of an injury, Molina leads NL catchers with 12 home runs and is second among catchers in the NL with 35 RBIs.
Worth noting: As expected, the Cardinals signed 17-year-old third baseman Malcom Nunez out of Cuba on the first day of the international free agent signing period. The Cardinals are restricted to not exceeding a $300,000 signing bonus for any player again this year, which takes them out of the running for most of the top international amateurs. Nunez is expected to play in the Dominican Summer League to begin his pro career … Paul DeJong was 0-of-4 with a sacrifice fly and two strikeouts as he continued his rehab assignment with Memphis on Monday night … Nolan Gorman, the Cardinals’ top pick in this year’s draft, hit his fourth homer in his 10th game for Johnson City on Monday night.
Looking ahead: Jack Flaherty will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series in Arizona.