Corey Kluber KKKKKK’s St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals never really got their bats untracked in Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Indians.

You could say Corey Kluber had plenty of Vitamin “K” on hand.

The Indians pitcher and last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner broke out in a dominant way, as he struck out 18 batters and allowed just one hit over eight innings of work in a 2-0 victory.

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The answer is Jhonny Peralta. The question, Jeopardy style? Which Cardinals batter broke up Kluber’s no-hit bid?

It was that type of night for the Cardinals as John Lackey walked five and struck out two in 5-1/3 innings of work to drop his record to 2-2 overall. Brandon Moss had three of Cleveland’s seven hits in the contest.

Kluber was overdue for a big game. The sad fact is it came against the Cardinals.

He dropped his first seven games this season, but the losses were largely the result of an Indians team that did not want to hit the ball at all. Cleveland’s slow start cost Kluber indirectly, as he would pitch well only to get no support at all.

Depending on the outcome of the game between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals will be either 5-1/2 or 6-1/2 games up on the competition in the National League Central.

What’s next?

The Cardinals can return to good times in a getaway game that starts Thursday at 12:10 p.m. Michael Wacha takes his 5-0 record and 2.09 ERA to the hill against Cleveland prospect Trever Bauer, who brings a 2-1 mark and 4.19 ERA into action.

Next: Looking ahead to the post-Yadier Molina era in St. Louis