Cardinals hope to rebound Saturday after tough loss in series opener
SEATTLE -- While the Seattle Mariners' Nathan Karns is certainly no Felix Hernandez, he may well be greeted with a King-sized welcome when he takes the mound Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Unlike recent starters Wade LeBlanc, Adrian Sampson and Vidal Nuno, Karns is a major league starting pitcher. That's a rarity on a pitching staff that's running out of pitching options.
A proven starter and a rested bullpen give the Mariners, losers of six of their past seven, a significantly better chance as they head into the second game of a series with the Cardinals.
Seattle got an unexpected quality start from LeBlanc, a recent addition to the rotation after spending most of the season with the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. LeBlanc threw six shutout innings and gave the bullpen a much-needed break in Friday's 4-3 victory. Seattle used three relievers, with recent call-up Donn Roach earning the win in his season debut.
The Cardinals have their own bullpen issues following another poor outing by closer Trevor Rosenthal. He suffered his third blown save in 17 opportunities this season after giving up a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.
"I'm showing up ready to go," Rosenthal said, unable to explain the recent struggles. "I feel like I'm giving my best stuff. I can't really comment on what's happened."
The Cardinals wasted another solid performance from starter Carlos Martinez, who allowed one run and four hits over seven innings and was in position to earn his eighth win of the season.
St. Louis (38-34) fell another game behind Chicago in the National League Central standings, and time is running out for the Cardinals to make a serious push. A three-game sweep at Wrigley Field earlier in the week put St. Louis back in the hunt, but the Cardinals are 10 1/2 back after Friday's loss.
Seattle is trying to get back into the AL West race after a rough road trip that saw the Mariners (37-37) drop seven of nine and lose their final six. They got back on track Friday, thanks to a starting pitcher who wasn't in the organization this time last week.
"That's what you hope for," LeBlanc said after Friday's game. "It's not what you plan for, but it's what you hope for."
Watch the Cardinals Live pregame and postgame shows before and after every St. Louis Cardinals game on FOX Sports Midwest.
The Mariners need Karns to get back in a groove as he's struggled over his first four starts of June. Walks have been a big factor as Karns has seen his season ERA swell from 3.43 to 4.38 over a span of four outings.
The Cardinals hope to have first baseman Matt Adams back in action after he was a late scratch for Friday's game. Adams is hitting .298 with nine home runs this season and was listed as "day-to-day" by Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.
