St. Louis Cardinals look to bounce back against Royals

Following a 5-0 loss in the opener of their I-70 series against their cross-state rivals in Kansas City, the St. Louis Cardinals look to bounce back vs. the Royals.

Lance Lynn labored through six, mostly ineffective innings outside of two mistake pitches that he left out over the plate against Kansas City Royals designated hitter, Kendrys Morales.

The first bad pitch came in the bottom of the first with two on-base for the Royals, and on this night was the only run support that Chris Young, the Kansas City starter, needed against the Cards.

Lynn would later give up another home run, this time a two-run shot to Morales – who is having a strong season thus far for the Royals.

Lynn told MLB.com after the game,

“On the first homer, it was right where I wanted it,” Lynn said. “He just put a good swing on it. The next one was a backup slider. He’s a good hitter, somebody I hadn’t seen before. I didn’t really know how to attack him. Now I know not to do that.”

For all the bad that was witnessed or felt by St. Louis Cardinals fans following this game, Lynn should be commended for multiple reasons. First, because of his toughness as it was later found out, he pitched with back discomfort and secondly because the bullpen wasn’t overextended.

Manager Mike Matheny alluded to it after the game telling MLB.com:

“Something just didn’t look right,” said Matheny, who made an early trip to the mound accompanied by a trainer.

The signs of a mature picture who understands the moment and can keep their emotions in check whether they have their best stuff or not, should be applauded and Lance Lynn deserves just that.

After convincing Matheny that he was physically able to get through six, Lance Lynn was able to give his team a boost despite yielding five runs. After the game Lynn stated,

“There are going to be games where you don’t feel good and you just have to go out there and see what you can do,” Lynn said. “When it was all said and done, two pitches cost me five runs.”

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As to some of the positives in the game, Matt Carpenter went 3-for-4 at the dish but his teammates weren’t able to back him up against the 6’10” Royals starter.

Other plusses were Matt Holliday extending his on-base streak of reaching base to 39 consecutive games which is just three shy of former Cardinal great, Albert Pujols who set the club record in 2008.

Yadi Molina contributed as well going 2-for-3 at the plate but like the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup, they could not get timely hits when they mattered the most which is generally with runners in scoring position.

Game 2 is Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. ET with John Lackey taking the mound opposite Royals starter and long-time Cardinals foe, Edinson Volquez.

Next: Memphis makes it five-straight wins on Friday