Playing small ball produced big results for the Cardinals on Wednesday night against the Mets.
A three-run third inning and a four-run fourth featured two infield hits, two sacrifice bunts by Michael Wacha and three errors by the Mets which sent the Cardinals to the win at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals scored the four runs in the fourth with only one hit out of the infield.
The big hit in the third was a bases-loaded single by Marcell Ozuna which drove in two runs. It was only the second hit for Ozuna in 25 at-bats.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Dexter Fowler had an RBI in both the third and the fourth, on a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk … Wacha’s second sacrifice came on a squeeze play, scoring Paul DeJong … Jedd Gyorko capped the night with a two-run home in the fifth, the 100th of his career, the last hit of the game by the Cardinals.
On the mound: Wacha pitched six innings, allowing five hits and the one run. That run scored on a broken-bat single by Jay Bruce in the third, only his second career hit in 33 at-bats against Wacha. Wacha struck out eight and walked one … John Brebbia pitched the final three innings, earning his first major-league save, giving up two hits while striking out four.
Key stat: DeJong’s double, which led off the four-run fourth, was his 13th extra-base hit in his first 12 career games against the Mets. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other player with at least 12 extra-base hits in his first 12 games against the Mets was Willie Mays.
Worth noting: Tommy Pham had to come out of the game after accidentally cutting his head while warming up in the batting cage before his scheduled at-bat in the third inning. Manager Mike Matheny said he was not certain what exactly happened … Fowler was in the second spot in the batting order for the first time this season. He has started at least one game hitting first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth. He is the sixth player to start in the second spot in the first 23 games of the season … Yadier Molina played the final three innings at first base, his 36th career game at first, and committed his third career error there and first since June 21, 2011 on a wild throw to Brebbia covering first … Nineteen-year-old outfield prospect Dylan Carlson was promoted from Class A Peoria to Palm Beach on Wednesday and played his first game at the high A level, going 0-of-4 as the DH.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals and Mets will meet for the final time this season in a 12:45 p.m. game on Thursday which will feature a pitching matchup of Carlos Martinez for the Cardinals and Noah Syndegaard for the Mets. Martinez has allowed one run in his last 27 innings and has a current scoreless streak of 18 innings.