In games where the St. Louis Cardinals hit homers and pitch well Antonio Callaway Color Rush Jersey , they generally walk off the field with a win.
But on nights where they canr17;t connect with the long ball, they donr17;t consistently make up for it with situational hitting or defense. Friday nightr17;s 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves was another example of that trend rearing its ugly head.
After failing to cash in leadoff walks in the bottom of the first against Braves starter Julio Teheran, St. Louis simply couldnr17;t crack the code. It eventually caught up with the Cardinals as they were held to one run for their second straight game.
For St. Louis (42-38) to even the series Saturday night at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals will have to do a better job of converting runners in scoring position into runs while not giving up extra outs defensively. The Cardinalsr17; three errors Friday night marked their 17th multi-error game in 80 games.
St. Louis is on a pace to commit more than 130 miscues this year, continuing a three-season trend of below-average defense. Permitting good teams like Atlanta (46-34) four or five outs in an inning is a recipe for disaster.
The Braves started a 10-game road trip with a positive result. Third baseman Johan Camargo was the offensive star, going 3-for-5 with two runs and a two-run double off Jordan Hicks in the eighth that broke open a 1-0 game.
r0;Baseball is all about its ups and downs,r1; Camargo said. r0;For me, itr17;s all about maintaining the focus and just staying the path.r1;
Atlanta essentially heeded Camargor17;s credo, bouncing back from consecutive series losses against last-place teams Baltimore and Cincinnati. It will turn to left-hander Max Fried (0-2, 4.09 ERA) on Saturday to secure a series win.
Fried is replacing veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy Breeland Speaks Color Rush Jersey , who was put on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a knee injury. A former first-round pick of San Diego, Fried will make his first start since going five innings and giving up one earned run on May 28 in a no-decision against the New York Mets.
It will be the second career appearance against the Cardinals for Fried, who last year tossed a scoreless inning in relief against them.
Right-hander Luke Weaver (4-6, 4.59) will look for his second straight win for St. Louis. Weaver shrugged off a rough first inning Sunday in Milwaukee to grab an 8-2 win, fanning a season-high nine over 5 2/3 innings while yielding two runs off five hits and two walks.
Weaver needed 32 pitches to make it through a two-run first inning, but started finding the range with his off-speed pitches. That made his fastball play bigger, and he rolled through the middle innings while the Cardinals bombed Jhoulys Chacin out of the box with five runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
r0;The first inning, it was like, r16;Here we go again.r17; It means a lot for him to right the ship,r1; St. Louis manager Mike Matheny told mlb.com.
Weaver Derrick Nnadi Color Rush Jersey , who snapped a seven-start winless streak in Milwaukee, will make his first career appearance against the Braves.
Blake Snell and the surging Tampa Bay Rays are having success against some of the majorr17;s best teams.
Snell struck out 10, reliever Diego Castillo fanned Jose Altuve in a key spot and the Rays wrapped up an impressive homestand by beating the Houston Astros 3-2 Sunday.
The Rays went 8-1 at Tropicana Field, taking three of four from the World Series champion Astros, sweeping three from the New York Yankees and winning both games against Washington. Tampa Bay set a team record by allowing no more than two runs in its sixth straight game.
r1;Everybodyr17;s doing their part,r1; Snell said.
Snell tied Hall of Famer Walter Johnson (1914) with his 11th consecutive home start allowing one or fewer earned runs for the longest stretch in the AL since 1913, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
r1;Her17;s pitched like an All-Star,r1; Rays manager Kevin Cash said. r1;We knew we had a chance to have a special series and really special homestand, and I think he capped it off.r1;
Matt Duffy hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning that put the Rays ahead 2-1 and Mallex Smith homered in the eighth.
Evan Gattis homered twice for Houston. The Astros went 0 for 14 during the series with runners in scoring position.
r1;We didnr17;t do enough to win the game or win the series.r1; Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
Snell (11-4) allowed one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings. The lefty has given up five earned runs over 51 2/3 innings (0.87 ERA) at home this season.
Castillo replaced Snell with the bases loaded in the eighth with the Rays leading by a run. Castillo struck out Altuve in a 10-pitch at-bat and got a grounder from Yuli Gurriel to protect the lead.
Sergio Romo got his eighth save despite allowing Gattisr17; homer in the ninth.
Charlie Morton (10-2) struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings. The Astros led 1-0 when he left with runners at first and second Dorian O'Daniel Color Rush Jersey , and Duffy greeted Chris Devenski with a bloop single down the right-field line. Joey Wendle scored from first base when right fielder Josh Reddick hesitated before throwing the ball back to the infield.
r1;I just kind of froze,r1; Reddick said. r1;Therer17;s no excuse for screwing that up. Ir17;ve got to get the ball in, and even if I throw it home early, wer17;re still playing the ball game right now.r1;
Gattis, who had eight homers and 30 RBIs in June, put the Astros up 1-0 on his seventh-inning drive.
Jake Marisnick had a potential run-scoring extra-base hit tracked down in deep center by Smith with two outs in the fifth.
Smithr17;s homer was his first since last July 21, ending a 356 at-bat drought.
r1;Ir17;m not worried about hitting home runs,r1; the speedy Smith said with a smile. r1;I like to steal bases. Canr17;t steal bases when you hit homers.r1;
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Astros: Gurriel returned after three days on the paternity list. . Reliever Joe Smith (right elbow soreness) could be back Tuesday.
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier was rested after making two diving catches Saturday. He dropped to 0 for 9, including eight strikeouts, against Morton by going down swinging as a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
SORE SPRINGER
Astros RF George Springer was out of the lineup for the second time in three days after tumbling into the stands chasing a foul ball Saturday. Hinch said Springer is r1;beat up a little bit.r1; Springer Albert Wilson Color Rush Jersey , mired in a 3-for-44 slide, was a pinch-runner in the ninth.
DEADLINE DEALS
The Rays could move veteran players like RHPs Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Archer, and C Wilson Ramos before the non-waiver trade deadline. Also attracting interest is Tampa Bayr17;s bullpen. r1;I imagine our front office will do what they always do, and thatr17;s look to do whatr17;s best for the organization going forward,r1; Cash said.
The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are among the teams with scouts in attendance recently.
UP NEXT
Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel (4-8) will go against Texas RHP Austin Bibens-Dirx (1-1) Tuesday night.
