Lance Lynn goes 7 innings, beats Reds

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Whatever Lance Lynn did during the offseason is helping. The third-year Cardinal pitched 7 innings of one-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds and the Cardinals offense helped for a 4-2 victory.
May 1, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
I won’t like that I was pessimistic about Lance Lynn after what happened down the stretch and in the 2012 postseason. However, the Ole Miss alumnus is back to his All-Star form. This season, he’s 5-0 with a 2.75 ERA. Sure, some of said that he should be pitching in the bullpen while Joe Kelly joins the rotation but with what he has done right now, I have no complaints.

Matt Carpenter has taken over a few games at third base while manager Mike Matheny has given David Freese a few games off to fix whatever is wrong with him. Call it “benching Freese” or what you will but something is going on with Freese. Meanwhile, Carpenter had another great day at the ballpark. He went 3 for 4 with a run and RBI while raising his batting average to .283 this season.

Freese is not the only one struggling. Jon Jay is hitting .204 and Daniel Descalso is hitting .169. Unless Kolten Wong gets called up soon, Descalso will continue to play at second. The Cardinals need his defensive capabilities for right now. The lineups for tonight have yet to be announced but I would expect that the hot-hitting Carpenter will be starting.

In the fourth inning, Carlos Beltran‘s solo home run gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game.

Brandon Phillips‘ double in the top of the 6th inning tied it up but the Cardinals spotted another 3 runs in the bottom frame on consecutive singles from Carpenter, Pete Kozma, and Descalso. The Cardinals have now scored 30 runs in the 6th inning, more than any other inning this season.

The Cardinals are in Milwaukee tonight. Jake Westbrook, still looking for career win 100, takes to the mound for the Cardinals against Wily Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers.