DENVER (AP) _ Dexter Fowler and Kolten Wong opened the game with successive
home runs and the St. Louis Cardinals connected five times in all to beat the
Colorado Rockies 10-3 on Thursday.
Marcell Ozuna, Rangel Ravelo and Harrison Bader also homered for St. Louis,
which holds a four-game lead over Chicago and Milwaukee atop the NL Central.
Limited to a total of two runs in losing the first two games of the series at
Coors Field, the Cardinals quickly bounced back.
Fowler drove the first pitch of the game from Tim Melville into the second deck
and Wong followed with a drive that soared over the center field wall.
Nolan Arenado homered and doubled to drive in a pair of runs for Colorado. Josh
Fuentes hit his first big league home run.
Miles Mikolas (9-13) went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He
struck out five and walked one.
Colorado scored in the first on an RBI double by Arenado, but the Cardinals
turned to the long ball again as Ravelo homered leading off the second.
St. Louis moved in front 4-1 on a sacrifice fly by Wong despite a fine play by
Arenado. The star third baseman made a running over-the-shoulder catch in foul
territory and turned and threw a one-hop strike to home, but a charging Bader
knocked the ball loose from catcher Dom Nunez in a bang-bang play at the plate.
Ozuna led off the third with a home run against Melville (2-2).
Leading 6-3 going into the ninth, the Cardinals broke through for four more
runs as reliever Wade Davis walked two and hit Paul DeJong with a pitch before
giving up a two-run double to Matt Carpenter. Jake McGee relieved and Andrew
Knizner had an RBI single with another run coming home on a balk.
UMPIRE SHAKEN UP
Home plate umpire Gerry Davis was struck in the chin by a foul tip off the bat
of Fuentes in the fourth. The ball hit Davis with such force that it knocked his
mask to the ground. After being looked at by medical personnel, Davis was
escorted into the clubhouse for further examination. He was replaced behind the
plate by first base ump Brennan Miller, and the rest of the game was handled by
three umps.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
Fowler also figured in the Cardinals’ most recent two-homer start to a game. He
and Tommy Pham hit successive home runs to open a game at Milwaukee on April 3,
2018.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Return home for a key series against NL Central Division rival
Milwaukee with RHP Adam Wainwright (11-9, 4.16 ERA) slated to pitch Friday
night’s opener. Wainwright’s 16 career wins against the Brewers are the most
among active pitchers.
Milwaukee starts Adrian Houser (6-5).
Game time is 7:15 with the pre-game at 6:20 on KTLO-AM.
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