Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 2
Matt Holliday smashed a two-run homer into the third deck as host St. Louis opened a nine-game homestand with its sixth straight win over Arizona.
Holliday’s 23rd homer, a 437-foot blast in the fourth inning off Ian Kennedy (10-10), followed Allen Craig’s leadoff single and staked the Cardinals to a 2-0 lead.
Jon Jay’s sixth-inning shot made it 3-0. Jay, who also banged into the center-field wall while making a spectacular catch in the fifth, added an RBI single in the eighth.
Rookie Joe Kelly (3-5) pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win, allowing only Miguel Montero’s two-run homer in the seventh. It might have been Kelly’s last start, as Jaime Garcia is expected to return Sunday from a shoulder injury.
Second baseman Skip Schumaker started two double plays for St. Louis, including one on which he went to his knees to grab Montero’s second-inning rocket. Matt Carpenter hit a two-run double in the eighth.
The Cards have outscored the Diamondbacks 40-19 while winning six straight in the series.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cardinals recalled rookie reliever Trevor Rosenthal from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday afternoon. He replaced LHP Brian Fuentes, who left the team for personal reasons. … St. Louis SS Rafael Furcal hit his second triple of the season with one out in the third, but got stranded. … Kennedy fell to 1-3 lifetime against St. Louis. … Arizona has made 12 errors in its past eight games. Kennedy committed consecutive seventh-inning errors on bunts, leading to two runs.