Cardinals take care of business against last-place Rockies, reduce magic number to 10
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- In a pennant race, starting a rookie who has made only four career starts doesn't seem like the best recipe for success.
Unless you're the Cardinals, who turned to left-hander Marco Gonzales on Sunday afternoon to take a turn in the rotation for Michael Wacha, who was one of many rookies they called on last year.
Like last year's rookies, Gonzales came through, too. He worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed only one run to help the Cardinals beat the Rockies, 4-1, and complete a three-game sweep.
"Well, it helps when you're pitching for a first-place team in a pennant race," Gonzales said. "The goal is to go out there and compete and my number was called, so I gave it my best shot. We came out on top today. So, good day."
Gonzales made his big-league debut June 25 against the Rockies, the team for which he grew up cheering and that still employs his father. He went five innings and gave up five runs in that game, a good enough outing considering he had not pitched above Class AA.
He's come a long way in the two and a half months since. His fastball remains in the 90-mph range and his changeup is still his best pitch, but Gonzales also is showing more confidence in his curveball and has started to go to a cutter, too. The expanded repertoire allowed him to overcome inconsistent command of his fastball against the Rockies. He walked four and gave up four hits but struck out nine, the most by a Cardinals rookie lefty since Rick Ankiel in 2000.
"Marco was good," manager Mike Matheny said. "He got himself into some trouble at times, but he was able to work out of it. He did have some walks and near misses, but that's the kind of pitcher he is. He's so fine with the location of his fastball. Just a terrific outing. We needed that big and he came up big."
The Cardinals reduced their magic number to win the NL Central to 10 by taking care of business against the last-place Rockies, by far the majors' weakest road team. Outside of Coors Field, they have the worst record (20-55), have scored the fewest runs (3.16) and own the highest ERA (4.60).
3 UP
-- Matt Holliday. He didn't homer and he didn't add to his NL-leading number of game-winning RBI (23), but he still had another big day. Holliday doubled twice and drove in the tying run, which was also the Cardinals' first of the game. Holliday ranks top 10 in RBI overall but only Giancarlo Stanton has been more productive in home games. Of Holliday's 86 RBI, 55 of them -- 68 percent -- have come at Busch Stadium even though he has more at-bats on the road.
-- Late-inning relievers. After a shaky outing (for him, anyway) Saturday, Pat Neshek pitched much more like the guy that's been the NL's most effective reliever much of this season. Neshek needed only 10 pitches to work a three-up, three-down eighth inning that included two strikeouts. Trevor Rosenthal was even sharper in the ninth, hitting 100 mph with one fastball and striking out the side for his NL-leading 44th save.
-- Yadier Molina. That he was catching a day game after a night game in the middle of September shows that missing 40 games because of right thumb surgery has left him fresher for the stretch. And now he's getting stronger at the plate. Molina collected three hits Sunday, including a double that bounced over the fence in left-center. He admitted after the game that all of the strength in his right thumb hasn't returned, but it is getting stronger. With another multi-hit game Saturday, Molina has his batting average back to .287 after it had fallen to a season-low .278 last Monday.
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3 DOWN
-- Matt Adams. Tightness in the mid-section kept him on the bench Sunday with the hope that two days of rest along with Monday's off day will return him to full strength. Adams missed the first two games on the last road trip because of the oblique issue and returned with a home run in his first at-bat. "We had it looked at really close," Matheny said before the game. "Trainers and doctors are all convinced there's some tightness in there but no structural damage."
-- Kolten Wong. Sitting out the first two games of the homestand didn't seem to help his bat much. Wong struck out in his first at-bat when he really needed to put the ball in play; two were on with one out. He grounded out and struck out again before he was lifted for pinch hitter Mark Ellis in the eighth inning when the Rockies had a lefty on the mound.
-- John Lackey. He wasn't very excited when he learned he would not be taking his scheduled turn in the rotation Tuesday. The Cardinals instead have their three hottest starters lined up for the Milwaukee series with Lance Lynn, Adam Wainwright and Shelby Miller.
"We have to figure out what's going to give us the best chance, and sometimes it's helping a guy take a rest when he doesn't want it," Matheny said. Lackey likely will start this weekend against the Reds, though Matheny refused to talk about the team's pitching plans past the upcoming Brewers series.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
