St. Louis Cardinals: Another Day, Another Win

It took a little time to develop, but chalk up another win for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals made it eight wins in nine games when their bats woke up in the later innings for a 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at Miller Park.

St. Louis maintained a 2-1/2 game lead over the Chicago Cubs, who broke through in the 11th inning for a 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

More from Redbird Rants

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• What’s next for the St. Louis Cardinals after Contreras signing?
• Report: Cardinals Emerge As Mystery Team for Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Trade targets after signing Willson Contreras
• Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects

Let’s take a look at the highlights from Miller:

*Heeeeeeeeeere’s Jhonny! Jhonny Peralta busted through with three of the Cardinals’ eight hits, including a sixth-inning homer off of Brewers pitcher Matt Garza. Peralta improved his batting average to .317 with his good night at the plate.

*It’s looking more and more like Carlos Martinez was the smart choice. Sure, Martinez backed into the fifth-starter role by accident when Jaime Garcia‘s shoulder acted up again, but he certainly looks like a pitcher on a mission. Martinez struck out eight batters in seven innings, gave way to setup specialist Jordan Walden and then watched as Trevor Rosenthal picked up his seventh save.

*Jason Heyward hit his second homer of the year. His bat has been slow to wake up, but any little bit of offense helps.

I didn’t think this series would be a difficult one for St. Louis, and I stand by that prediction. The Brewers are off to a dismal, horrendous start that may cost manager Ron Roenicke his job, and getting off to a 3-14 start doesn’t help.

The teams meet again Saturday at 7:10 p.m.