DeJong helps power Cardinals past Nationals
CARDINALS 12, NATIONALS 5
WASHINGTON — Here’s how Paul DeJong explained the game plan the St. Louis Cardinals devised to face Washington’s Joe Ross for the second time in less than a week: “We just wanted, as a group, to stay on the fastball.”
And here’s how Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt described his hitters’ successful strategy: “It’s not a rocket science report. It’s not overly earth-shattering.”
No matter how you characterize it, sure did work well.
DeJong hit two of the Cardinals’ five home runs, including a grand slam; Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt went deep back-to-back; and St. Louis offered Jack Flaherty his usual strong run support in a 12-5 victory Monday night over Ross and the Nationals.
“There’s a lot of ways you can score,” Shildt said. “The homer happened tonight.”
Five days after Ross befuddled the Cardinals with a steady set of sinkers and sliders in Washington’s 6-0 win, St. Louis figured it needed to try something different.
The message — in the pregame meeting, during conversations around the batting cage and in dug- out chatter — essentially boiled down to: Don’t worry so much about the darting sliders and just focus on the fastballs.
“We were just really disciplined today as a group … not missing the ones we needed to hit,” DeJong said, calling the performance “a validation of what we do.”
He got the offense going by clanging a solo shot off the left-field foul pole in the second inning on a 95 mph sinker for the first run allowed
by Ross (1-1) in three games this season after he sat out 2020 because of covid-19 concerns.
DeJong ended Ross’ evening with another drive to left, this one off a high fastball after Dylan Carlson was walked intentionally to load the bases, making it 10-2 in the fifth.
Edman, who hit a 3-0 pitch, and Goldschmidt homered in the third off Ross, whose season ERA went from 0.00 to 5.87 after he gave up 10 runs in 41/3 innings. Justin Williams added a shot off Ross’ replacement, Kyle Finnegan.
When Shildt was asked before Monday’s game about facing Ross again so soon, he replied: “I feel good about our plan.”
Matt Carpenter, who came in batting .069 and was dropped to seventh in the order, provided an RBI single in the fourth as the Cardinals built a 6-0 lead with the help of Flaherty’s sacrifice bunt.
Flaherty (3-0) is used to that sort of cushion. The Cardinals are averaging 11 runs in his four starts this season — and 3.25 runs in the 12 games started by other pitchers.
GIANTS 2, PHILLIES 0 Brandon Belt hit a two-run home run, Kevin Gausman pitched out of trouble in six innings and the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies. San Francisco’s Gabe Kapler became the first manager in major-league history to start his career 200-200. Kapler, who was 161-163 as Philadelphia’s manager in 201819, was booed when he brought out the lineup card. Gausman (1-0) allowed 6 hits, walked 4 and struck out 5.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RED SOX 11, WHITE SOX 4 Kike Hernandez led off with a replay-aided home run and Bobby Dalbec worked a 14-pitch walk in a six-run first inning, helping the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox. Lucas Giolito (1-1) was removed with two on and no outs in the second. He allowed 8 runs — 7 earned — and 8 hits as his ERA more than doubled from 2.55 to 5.79. Nathan Eovaldi (3-1) matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in 61/3 innings, allowing 4 runs and 9 hits with no walks.
RAYS 4, ROYALS 1 Josh Fleming pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning as Tampa Bay beat the Kansas City Royals. Fleming struck out three in 51/3 innings. The 24-year-old left-hander has allowed one run in 101/3 innings this year. Relievers Ryan Thompson and Hunter Strickland carried the baton out of the bullpen and held Kansas City to two hits, both in the eighth. Chris Mazza shut the door in the ninth. Danny Duffy (2-1) struck out 8 in 6 innings and allowed 2 runs — neither earned — and 4 hits with 2 walks for the Royals.