ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Jon Jay had
three RBIs, including a two-run homer off center fielder Mike Trout's
glove during St. Louis' seven-run second inning, and the Cardinals ended
the Los Angeles Angels' seven-game winning streak with a 12-2 rout on
Wednesday night.
Matt Carpenter, batting leadoff in
front of Jay, also homered and drove in three runs to help keep the
Cardinals two games behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
Shelby Miller (9-6) struck out six
over six innings and allowed five hits, including a two-run homer by
Hank Conger in the second. The right-hander was coming off back-to-back
losses against two other AL West clubs, including a 6-1 defeat last
Friday at Oakland in which he lasted only 1 2/3 innings and gave up five
runs.
Jerome Williams (5-4) was charged with
seven runs, four hits and four walks in just 1 2/3 innings. The
right-hander had not given up more than three bases on balls in any of
his previous 17 starts.
One night after the Angels scored all
of their runs in the second inning of a series-opening 5-1 victory, the
Cardinals sent 12 men to the plate in the second after Williams had set
them down 1-2-3 in the first.
The seven-run rally included a two-run
double by David Descalso, and a two-run homer by Jay that Trout had in
his glove for an instant before it popped out as his arm made contact
with the top of the fence. Yadier Molina, who raised his NL-leading
average to .352 after going 3 for 4 with a walk, greeted Garrett
Richards with an RBI single that delivered the seventh run.
The Angels got two runs back in the
bottom half on Conger's fifth homer after a two-out walk to Alberto
Callaspo. But David Freese scored an unearned run in the Cardinals'
third when Richards mishandled a throw from first baseman Mark Trumbo on
Carpenter's two-out grounder behind the bag.
St. Louis increased the margin to 10-2
in the fifth on a run-scoring, ground-rule double by Carpenter and an
RBI single by Jay, who had driven in only one run in his previous 35
at-bats coming in. It was only his second game this season with three or
more RBIs, the other on May 4 when he had four at Milwaukee.
Carpenter ended the scoring in the eighth with his eighth homer, a solo shot off Billy Buckner.
NOTES: The 12 runs by the Cardinals
were one more than the Angels had given up in their previous six games
combined. ... St. Louis LF Matt Holliday didn't play for the second
straight night because of a pinched nerve in his neck. ... Cardinals ace
Adam Wainwright was named the NL pitcher of the month for June after
going 4-2 with a 1.77 ERA in six starts, including a pair of
complete-game 7-1 victories over San Francisco and Oakland. He is the
only one on the staff this season to average at least seven innings per
outing. ... Molina was back in the fifth spot in the batting order,
after hitting in the two hole the previous six games and going 7 for 25
with a homer and three RBIs. ... Cardinals LF Allen Craig drew three
walks in the first four innings, matching the total he had in 116 plate
appearances over his previous 28 games. He has 18 this season in 338
plate appearances. ... Wednesday was the fourth anniversary of Albert
Pujols' 10th career grand slam with the Cardinals, which broke Stan
Musial's franchise record. ... Jay's only other interleague home run
came on June 30, 2011, at Baltimore against Brian Matusz. ... The Angels
have committed 61 errors, the second-most in the AL. The Cardinals have
made 34, the fewest in the NL. ... Howie Kendrick's 102 hits are the
most by an Angels second baseman before the All-Star break.
