ST. LOUIS -- The doubles just keep coming for the Cardinals' leadoff hitter.
A more aggressive approach at the plate has made Matt Carpenter even more dangerous than he was a year ago, when he made the All-Star Game thanks to a patient approach and a knack for getting on base. Cincinnati would probably have liked to see Carpenter show more patience at the plate after he doubled to start the first and last scoring rallies in a 6-1 win Friday night at Busch Stadium.
"Last year I kind of got off to a slow start and I just couldn't -- I never really felt comfortable in the box," Carpenter said. "I ended up putting together a decent year while never really feeling good, but right now I feel great and hopefully I can keep that going."
He leads St. Louis with nine runs, seven RBIs and, of course, six doubles, all of which have come in the last four games. Perhaps not coincidentally, he earned all four of his walks on the Cardinals' five-game road trip to open the season.
"Honestly, it's not as much about being aggressive as just about being ready to hit," Carpenter said. "There were times last year where I was a little bit more hesitant at the plate, for whatever reason, but I was trying to work walks."
By returning to the form that helped him hit a career-best .318 in 2013, he's set the tone for an offense that appears to be hitting its stride during a three-game winning streak. St. Louis has scored four runs in every game since a 2-0 shutout loss at Chicago last Wednesday and finally started stringing hits together after leaving 12 men on base in a 5-4 loss to Milwaukee on Monday.
3 UP
• Molina delivers. Cincinnati hoped it could get a double play and keep the game tied by intentionally walking Jon Jay to load the bases in the seventh inning.
Instead, the strategy backfired when Yadier Molina lined a three-run double down the left-field line, eliciting an emphatic fist pump on his way to first base. Molina has caught fire during St. Louis' win streak, hitting safely in six of 11 at-bats with only one strikeout.
"He's feeling much more confident at the plate, and we like it when he's in the spot that he's in right now," manager Mike Matheny said. "We knew it was going to come around. He's just been working and he's been pushing hard."
• Wacha wins again. Michael Wacha did his part to continue the pattern of outstanding St. Louis starts.
The right-hander outdueled Johnny Cueto for the second time in as many games by giving up only five hits and striking out four in seven impressive innings. Two solo home runs have been all the scoring Cincinnati has mustered in 13 1/3 innings against Wacha, who said consistently great outings foster friendly competition for a starting rotation that boasts an NL-best 2.08 ERA.
"You've just got to go with what's working, and I was able to throw some fastballs and some cutters and mix in the changeup," he said. "I got some good outs on them as well."
• Hit streaks continue. Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta started the seventh-inning rally by keeping alive their nine-game hit streaks that began Opening Night.
Neither Cardinal has blinked in a contest to see who will last the longest before going hitless in a game this season. Both are batting better than .340 and Holliday leads the team with eight walks and an on-base percentage of .463.
3 DOWN
• Votto goes deep. Joey Votto hit his third home run of the season against St. Louis pitching to put Cincinnati briefly ahead 1-0 in the first inning. The big first baseman hit two homers off John Lackey a week ago in Cincinnati, so perhaps it's for the best he won't have to face him this weekend at Busch.
• More mistakes. A pair of errors in the infield threatened to taint Wacha's terrific performance.
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Peralta bobbled a grounder up the middle just enough to allow Brandon Phillips to reach base in the third, and Wacha made things tougher on himself with an errant throw to first on Zack Cozart's swinging bunt in the seventh. But both times, Cincinnati failed to take advantage of its extra baserunner.
• Cardinal cold spells. Even though a pair of late offensive spurts caused plenty of damage, the St. Louis bats went cold for long stretches against one of the best pitchers in the National League.
Cueto retired nine straight batters before Jason Heyward's leadoff single in the fourth, and five consecutive strikeouts capped off a stretch of seven straight outs that ended with Heyward watching strike three in the sixth.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
