video thumbnail

Garcia fans nine over 7 1/3 dominant innings

The 2012 season has been a struggle for the Padres. Lately, the Cardinals have been finding out what that's like.

The two teams start a three-game series on Monday night in St. Louis, with the Cardinals hobbling -- literally and figuratively. They've lost four straight and eight of 10 after Sunday night's defeat to the Dodgers, shrinking their National League Central lead to a half-game over the Reds.

Even worse, first baseman Lance Berkman hit the disabled list on Sunday for the second time this season, the result of a right knee injury he sustained on Saturday. He joins center fielder Jon Jay, utility man Allen Craig and pitchers Chris Carpenter, Kyle McClellan and Scott Linebrink on the shelf.

"They see Lance go down at the end of an inning and the human side says, 'Really?' That's when you have to make a conscious effort," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said prior to Sunday's game. "But there was a buzz in that dugout. There's a buzz in this clubhouse today. Guys are singing and acting silly. I think they enjoy the game. I think they enjoy each other. And there is a twisted part of all of us that when something like this happens, they say, 'OK, here we go. Watch this.'"

As they start a seven-game homestand, the Cardinals will turn to Jaime Garcia to oppose the Padres, who are 16-26 overall and 9-9 in May. San Diego is starting a 10-game road trip with Clayton Richard on the hill.

Both lefties are coming off strong outings.

Garcia struck out nine without walking a batter on Wednesday in San Francisco, holding the Giants to one run in 7 1/3 innings. He had surrendered 10 runs in 11 2/3 innings over his previous two outings.

"I was able to stay in control of the game and just worried about one pitch at a time," Garcia said. "I've been watching video and working on figuring out what I needed to do."

Richard snapped a five-game losing streak by holding the Dodgers to two runs on four hits in seven innings on Wednesday. He struck out six and issued no walks.

"When you eliminate free passes and putting people on base yourself, you give yourself more of a chance to succeed. It's no secret," Richard said that day. "Beng able to do that today was a definite plus."

The southpaw is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in three games in his career against the Cardinals.

Padres: Getting the hang of it
First baseman Yonder Alonso was hitting .196 after play on April 24, but a hot streak since that point has brought his average up to .293.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two walks on Sunday against the Angels, giving him 30 hits in his last 84 at-bats (.357) with 11 doubles and one home run. The 25-year-old leads qualified National League rookies in batting average, on-base percentage, hits and doubles.

• The Padres called up Matt Palmer from Triple-A Tucson on Sunday and optioned fellow right-hander Nick Vincent to Tucson. The 33-year-old Palmer, who is 13-7 with a 4.52 ERA in 60 Major League games, will serve as a long reliever. He didn't pitch on Sunday.

Cardinals: Patching a hole with Adams
With Berkman sidelined, the Cardinals called up Matt Adams from Triple-A Memphis to help out Matt Carpenter at first base. The big left-handed hitter was in the lineup to make his Major League debut on Sunday night, playing first and batting seventh, and banged out his first two hits.

A 23rd-round pick in the 2009 Draft out of Slippery Rock University, Adams blasted his way through the Minors. He was the Texas League Player of the Year at Double-A Springfield in 2011 and was ranked as the Cardinals' No. 8 prospect going into this season by MLB.com

The 23-year-old was hitting .340 with a .375 on-base percentage, a .558 slugging percentage and nine home runs at Memphis. That included a 13-for-28 (.464) binge over his last seven games.

Worth noting
• The Cardinals are expected to get a much clearer idea of how long Berkman will be out on Monday. He is scheduled to have an MRI done in St. Louis.

• The Padres are 4-10 on the road with a 4.30 team ERA, well over a run worse than their mark at home. Richard has a 7.99 ERA in four road starts.

• Garcia has a 1.35 ERA in three career starts against the Padres, including a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in his first outing of 2011.

MLB.com Comments