Cardinals 8, Indians 3
CLEVELAND -- Matt Holliday belted a three-run home run in a four-run eighth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday at Progressive Field.
St. Louis took an early 4-0 lead but Cleveland cut it to 4-3 in the seventh. The Cardinals rallied for four runs in the eighth against the Cleveland bullpen, with all eight of the St. Louis runs coming on two-out hits.
Right-hander Lance Lynn (2-3) started and pitched six scoreless innings to get the win.
With one out in the top of the seventh, third baseman Matt Carpenter doubled. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco (4-3) struck out left fielder Holliday for the second out. But shortstop Jhonny Peralta doubled over the head of right fielder Brandon Moss, scoring Carpenter to give St. Louis a 4-0 lead.
Carrasco was removed from the game after Peralta's hit. In 6 2/3 innings Carrasco gave up four runs on 10 hits. He struck seven and did not walk a batter.
The Indians had numerous chances to score in the early innings but failed to get a timely hit. They finally broke through in the seventh inning, which began with a single by shortstop Jose Ramirez off right-hander Matt Belisle, who started the inning in place of Lynn.
Second baseman Jason Kipnis followed with a double, scoring Ramirez with Cleveland's first run. First baseman Carlos Santana struck out, and left-hander Randy Choate was brought in to face the left-handed hitting center fielder Michael Brantley. Brantley lined a double down the left field line, scoring Kipnis to make it 4-2.
Pinch hitter Ryan Raburn also doubled to left, driving in Brantley to cut it to 4-3.
In the top of the eighth, Carpenter singled in a run, off left-hander Nick Hagadone to extend the St. Louis lead to 5-3. Right-hander Scott Atchison relieved Hagadone, and Holliday belted a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right field for a three-run home run to make it 8-3.
Peralta led off the second inning with an infield single. After first baseman Matt Adams struck out, catcher Yadier Molina singled to right, moving Peralta to second. The runners went to second and third on a groundout before designated hitter Mark Reynolds singled to right, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals added a run in the fifth. Reynolds led off with a single and went to second on a single by center fielder Peter Bourjos. Second baseman Kolton Wong popped out to Carrasco on a bunt attempt and Carpenter struck out, but Holliday blooped a single to center to score Reynolds to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cleveland loaded the bases with one out, but Lynn struck out Brantley and Moss to end the threat.
NOTES: Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter returned to the team Tuesday after taking off the three-game series in Pittsburgh because of extreme fatigue. ... Indians C Yan Gomes could be close to going on a minor league rehab assignment. He has been on the disabled list since April 12 with a sprained right knee. ... Indians RHP Danny Salazar's 48 strikeouts in 33 innings are the most by an Indians pitcher in his first five starts of a season since Sam McDowell had 49 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings in his first five starts in 1968.