Tyler Lyons leads St. Louis Cardinals to victory

Tyler Lyons got his first career win as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 5-3.
Feb 19, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals player Tyler Lyons (70) poses for a picture during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
In his first game at the big league level, Lyons pitched 7 complete innings for the Cardinals. The rookie pitcher allowed 4 hits, 1 run, and struck out 4 batters. The only run that he gave up was the result of a home run off the bat of second baseman Jedd Gyorko.

The Cardinals offense gave Lyons a lead before he even stepped out to the mound in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the first, the Cards spotted 3 runs on the board after every player stepped up to the plate. Matt Holliday had an RBI triple that scored Matt Carpenter. The play was reviewed and stood. Allen Craig hit a single and Holliday scored. Daniel Descalso hit a liner to right field for an RBI double that scored Craig.

Six of Descalso’s 13 RBI this season have come in the last two games.

Padres pitcher Burch Smith had an early exit as he departed from the game after allowing the first 2 batters in the second inning to reach base on singles. He has already been reassigned to the minor leagues.

In the top of the second inning, Holliday grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, but Carpenter scored.

The Cards got the fifth and final run of the night in the fifth inning when Yadier Molina drove in Carlos Beltran on a single.

As of last night, Carpenter, Beltran, Molina, and Craig were all batting .300 or more. Carpenter hit 2 for 3 to bring his batting average back up to .300. Beltran had a 3 for 5 night and is sitting at .305. Molina has been hitting over .300 for a large majority of the season. He dropped to .292 on April 28th but has been at .300 since the Cardinals played the Philadelphia Phillies on April 18th. He climbed from .319 to .333 after a 4 for 5 night at the plate. Craig was 1 for 5 but he’s been hitting over .300 since 3 for 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 17th.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched the 8th inning while Edward Mujica struggled to get through the 9th inning. The closer allowed 3 hits, 2 runs, and struck out one batter.