CINCINNATI — The St. Louis Cardinals have not exactly hit the ground running this season. It started with a cancellation of their final exhibition game in Memphis followed by Opening Day in Cincinnati, then two games delayed more than six hours by rain. But, manager Mike Matheny said the Reds’ pitching had more to do with the Cardinals’ offensive struggles than the weather.
Right-hander Johnny Cueto and lefty Tony Cingrani locked up Cardinals batters in the first two games — a 1-0 win and a 1-0 loss. But on Thursday, St. Louis erupted for seven runs on 11 hits in a 7-6 series-clinching victory.
Matheny was pleased with the production from the bottom of his order, most notably center fielder Jon Jay and shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who combined for three RBIs, two on Peralta’s two-run homer. Still, Matheny wants to see more consistency.
“We had a lot of missed opportunities,” said Matheny. “It’s the sort of thing we need to do more of.”
Still, a team that made do with fewer home runs last season and robust numbers with runners in scoring position is still adjusting to the departures of Carlos Beltran and David Freese and trying to figure out the best lineup combinations.
The Cardinals took extra batting practice and watched extra video during the down time. After a 3:42 rain delay Thursday, the Cardinals’ bats woke up against Reds right-hander Homer Bailey.
“The first two days the pitchers were on, there wasn’t too much offense on either side,” said Cardinals 1B Matt Adams, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles. “Today, it was an offensive game on both sides. That’s the game of baseball.”