Whether Lackey needed rest or not, he got it -- and came up big against Reds
ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny sounded pretty sure that extra rest made a difference in John Lackey's performance Friday night.
Lackey didn't sound quite as convinced, but he certainly couldn't argue with the results.
Pitching for the first time since he was passed over in the rotation, Lackey turned in the kind of performance the Cardinals were seeking when they traded for him in July. He pitched into the eighth inning, allowed only one run and emerged the winner in a 2-1 victory over the Reds at Busch Stadium.
This was quite a turnaround from his past three starts, when he allowed 13 runs in 14 1/3 innings.
"We needed a big start and we were hoping that it would look like the John Lackey we've seen before," Matheny said. "He was right on time. I expected that a little rest might bring the guy that we know -- a guy that goes deep into the game and in big situations like this one, he gets better. He didn't disappoint."
"That's why I'm here," Lackey said about coming through in a pennant race.
Asked if a few more days between starts might have made a difference, Lackey paused, rubbed his chin and thought hard before answering.
"I guess it helped," he said. "We'll go with that."
Is it fair to say you'd rather not have had the extra time off?
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"Very fair."
Did being bypassed for the Milwaukee series put a little more fire in the belly?
"I've got plenty of edge," he said. "It might have been a little extra tonight."
The biggest difference was in his command. Lackey touched 92 mph with his fastball, which is about standard for him this time of year, but he worked ahead in the count, didn't walk a batter and benefited from the Reds making four outs on first pitches. Of the 87 pitches Lackey needed to work 7 2/3 innings, 66 were strikes.
"The ball was coming out better," he said. "When you don't have to manufacture effort, it's easier to locate. I definitely located the ball a lot better."
Known as someone who doesn't hold back his emotions or mind telling you what he thinks, Lackey did not make a fuss after he slipped behind Shelby Miller into the fourth spot in the rotation. He didn't even complain -- much -- when Matheny lifted him with one out to go in the eighth. But if anyone has been thinking that the trade for him was looking like a bust, they should reconsider. The Cardinals are 6-3 in his starts, and that includes the three clunkers.
"I guess they might have some doubts, but I don't know how many more times I have to prove myself," Lackey said. "Chalk one more up."
Added Matheny: "That didn't really surprise us. You could tell he was fighting through a couple of things that weren't allowing him to be that guy these last few starts. This is the guy that we know."
3 UP
-- Power surge. After going without a homer in the Milwaukee series, the Cardinals wasted little time making sure that wouldn't happen against the Reds. In the first inning, Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday homered on consecutive at-bats off lefty David Holmberg, with Grichuk's blast accounting for the Cardinals' 100th of the season. The back-to-back homers were the first for the Cardinals since Allen Craig and Jhonny Peralta managed the feat against the Marlins on July 5.
-- Jon Jay. Not once but twice he got up close and not so comfortable with the center-field fence to haul in hit-saving catches. Both blasts were produced by former Cardinal Ryan Ludwick, too. Though neither appeared to be headed over the fence -- the first one would have been close -- both would have gone for extra bases with a lesser defender in center field.
-- Matt Carpenter. His batting average is down to .270, the lowest since May, but his .372 OBP remains among the best among leadoff hitters thanks to his discerning eye. Carpenter drew his 91st walk, which is good for second most in the NL. He very likely will end up leading the league, too, because he's only three behind NL leader Giancarlo Stanton, whose season ended last week when he was hit in the face by a pitch.
3 DOWN
-- Timely hitting. After the back-to-back homers, the Cardinals returned to a familiar pattern of this week: They stopped scoring. One problem was a lack of timely hitting from four- and five-hole hitters Peralta and Matt Adams. They batted four times with runners in scoring position --- the only Cardinals to come up with RISP -- and did not produce anything more than a hit by pitch, that coming when Peralta was hit on the right foot. When no one was on in the ninth, both hit long flies to right field that were hauled in by Jay Bruce.
-- Trevor Rosenthal. For the second time this week and the 29th time in 71 outings, he allowed the first batter he faced to reach base. This time, Rosenthal did not get a chance to work his way out of the situation. After a leadoff walk to Todd Frazier, he struck out Devin Mesoraco with a 98-mph fastball, gave up a bloop single to Brandon Phillips and was lifted from the game. Randy Choate came in and struck out Jay Bruce for the eighth time in their 12 confrontations and was followed by Seth Maness, who retired Ludwick on a fly to center -- this a shallow one -- to pick up his third save.
-- Mark Ellis' playing time. Here's how far Ellis has dropped on the second-base depth chart: When Matheny was talking about all his options at the position before Friday's game, he mentioned Kolten Wong, Daniel Descalso and Friday night starter Pete Kozma. But Matheny didn't bring up Ellis until he was asked. "It's been a difficult season for Mark and for us to find the right fits to get him in there," Matheny said. "I'd like to get him more, but it's tough." Ellis is hitting .183 with a .217 slugging percentage in 199 plate appearances, all career lows by a lot.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
