Cubs' rookies get the best of Cardinals' most reliable reliever
ST. LOUIS -- On Friday night when the most valuable Cardinal returned after a seven-week absence, the most dependable Cardinal struggled like he hadn't all season.
The difficulties of reliever Pat Neshek determined the outcome of the Cubs' 7-2 victory far more than the comeback of Yadier Molina, who went 0 for 4 but experienced no issues with his surgically repaired right thumb.
Neshek had his issues when called on to pitch the eighth inning of a 2-2 game. The Cardinals' most reliable reliever all season, he gave up four runs on four hits after allowing only five runs total in his first 59 outings this season. His ERA climbed from 0.81 to 1.45 and he was unable to complete the inning.
The damage was done by a couple of power-hitting rookies the Cardinals are sure to see more than they'd care to in the coming years. Javier Baez, playing his 24th big-league game, drove in the first two runs with a double scorched to center off what Neshek said was a good pitch. Two outs later, just when normalcy seemed to be returning to Busch Stadium, Jorge Soler launched a first-pitch sinker from Neshek 442 feet over the left-field wall.
It was the 22-year-old Soler's second homer of the night and third in his first three big-league games, matching what the 21-year-old Baez did in his first three games earlier this month.
Their showing provided a glimpse of some of the future the Cubs have been waiting on and left the Cardinals duly impressed.
"A couple of guys hit some balls that we haven't really seen hit like that here," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "They've got some power."
Soler's homer off Neshek came on a sinker that was intended to be outside but instead came up and so far inside that Matheny said he wasn't sure the pitch was a strike.
"For a right-handed guy, I haven't seen too many guys ever hit a ball like that off me," Neshek said. "I know (Jose) Bautista hit one a few years back when I was in Minnesota like that. That was a no-doubter. At first, I thought it might have been going foul because it was such a hack. He had quick hands. Impressive."
Neshek was just as impressed with Baez's double, which came on the seventh pitch of an at-bat during which he foiled four consecutive sliders, two by fouling off and two by not swinging.
"Baez had a great at-bat," Neshek said. "We tried a lot of sliders and he didn't bite on them. I felt like the pitch I made was a pretty decent pitch inside and he got his bat right out and hit it right in the gap. He did a really good job."
For the first time this season, Neshek (6-1) didn't do his very well.
"You hate giving up anything. You hate giving up the lead and you hate giving up more than two runs. That's never fun," said Neshek, before turning reflective. "It's been a good run and I'll finish strong."
3 UP
-- Shelby Miller. By allowing two runs in seven innings, Miller made it four quality starts in a row for the Cardinals' rotation. Both of the runs came on long home runs off fastballs, including one by Soler that went directly over the 400-foot mark in center field that Matheny said he thought would be a pop-up when it left the bat.
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Miller has served eight homers in his past seven starts, but only nine runs have scored on them. He was efficient by his standards, walking only two and finishing with 93 pitches.
-- Matt Holliday. His first-inning single gave the Cardinals a lead and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Holliday came up with two on and two out in the seventh with a chance to give the Cardinals a lead but lined out to left field.
-- Teamwork. The Cubs trailed by one with one out in the sixth when Starlin Castro blasted a fly that sent Jon Jay sprinting toward left-center. Jay didn't make the catch, but Holliday was there to pick up the ball as it rolled back off the fence. Holliday wheeled and fired a strike to cut-off man Jhonny Peralta, who in turn threw a strike to Matt Carpenter at third. Carpenter caught the ball just as Castro slid headfirst into the tag. If either throw had been just a little off, Castro would have been safe and the Cubs would have been poised to tie the game.
3 DOWN
-- Offense after the first. After the Cardinals' first two batters, Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong, reached and scored in the first, the St. Louis offense was baffled by the 90-mph stuff of Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs' bullpen. The Cardinals had only five hits after the first inning and had only one baserunner -- Jay in the fifth -- reach third base. They struck out 10 times, including four in the ninth against Justin Grimm. It was the fifth consecutive game the Cardinals failed to score more than three runs.
-- Matt Adams. The burly first baseman might be wearing down a bit in the dog days of his first big-league season as an everyday player. Adams went 0 for 4 and is 5 for 32 over his past nine games. His batting average is down to .300 for the first time since May 17.
-- Tony Cruz. If one person at Busch Stadium might not have been thrilled to the bone that Molina returned, that person would be the third-string catcher. To make room for Molina on the 25-man roster, Cruz was sent to Springfield and will spend the weekend with the Double-A Cardinals in Tulsa. Cruz, who had not been to the minors since 2011, figures to be back Monday, when teams can expand rosters to 40 players.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
