Bullpen blows it for Cardinals in blowout

Maikel Cleto was just recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals and gave up 5 runs last night in a 10-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
June 5, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Joe Kelly (58) throws to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Joe Kelly had a great spot start last night for the Cards. In 5.2 innings, he allowed 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and struck out 2 batters. He left the game after throwing 80 pitches, which was only 20 more pitches than what was expected of him.

It became a bullpen game but not in the traditional sense. Randy Choate relieved Kelly and pitched 1 inning. Choate threw 25 pitches to 7 batters but it wasn’t pretty. Not in the least. He allowed 2 hits, 3 runs, and struck out only one batter.

It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Who did the Cards turn to but Cleto. He pitched the final 2.1 innings of the game. Despite the fact that he struck out 5 batters, he allowed 5 hits, 5 runs, and one walk. Four of those runs came on a grand slam by Paul Goldschmidt in the 7th inning with 3 on and 2 outs.

Cleto finished the evening with a 19.29 ERA but earlier in the night, his ERA was very close to 35.00 in a matter of innings.

Offensively, there are some things to note. Both Matt Carpenter and David Freese have continued their hitting streaks. Carpenter had a 4-hit night at the plate and raised his batting average to .333, an increase of 10 points from Tuesday’s game. Freese is now sitting on a .279 batting average.

Since May 27th’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma has been in a slump. In his last 38 at bats, Kozma only has 4 hits. In other words, he is hitting .105 in the last 10 games.