The Arizona Diamondbacks couldn't catch a break last night against the best team in baseball as they were trampled 7-1 by the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday evening at Busch Stadium. Inning by inning, members of the D-backs roster weren't able to get much going against Redbirds ace Lance Lynn (8-1, 2.76 ERA), who pitched seven merciless innings and struck out a half-dozen of Arizona's batters while only allowing a single run.
Conversely, Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill (3-5, 3.27) was in his own personal hell on the mound as he gave up nine hits and five runs -- including a homer to St. Louis' Yadier Molina -- through the fifth.
See Also: - Diamondbacks Take Two of Three Against Chicago Cubs at Wrigley
Cahill, who also walked three Cardinals ballplayers, could get neither his mojo nor his sinker working effectively through his five frustrating innings of work on Monday, frequently falling behind in the counts and failing to record a single strikeout. He did, however, have a wild pitch in the third, which permitted Molina to reach third and factored into one of two St. Louis runs that inning.
Cahill also gave up RBI singles in the first and fourth innings, accounting for five of the Cardinals' seven runs during the rout. Fortunately, the was able to force ground-outs and fly-out while being backed up by the fielding work of the D-backs roster.
He didn't get much in the way of offensive support, however, with Lynn on the mound. No Arizona got past second base until the sixth inning when the D-backs were able to generate a run thanks to a double by Gerardo Parra, who advanced to third from a Martín Prado pop fly and got onto home place via a Paul Goldschmit ground out.
If there's a silver lining to the defeat, its that Arizona (32-25) still has a two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West horse race. They attempt to score a victory over St. Louis (38-19) when they continue their four-game series at Busch Stadium tonight.
Rookie lefty Tyler Skags (1-0, no ERA) faces off against similarly fresh-faced Michael Wacha (0-0. 1.29 ERA). First pitch: 7:15 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR 620 AM. More info: www.dbacks.com.
