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St. Louis Cardinals??: 2 Homers, 7 Runs On Zack Greinke Not Enough To Beat Arizona D-Backs

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 04:28 PST, Apr 26, 2016

??Arizona Diamondbacks? pitcher Zack Greinke allowed the ?St. Louis Cardinals seven earned runs on Monday off of 11 hits (including two by MLB-leading Aledmys Diaz), but the D-Backs still took home the win. While the Cards’ offensive hot streak continued against arguably the toughest pitcher on the St. Louis Cardinals schedule, their bullpen fell apart in the 6th inning, allowing the Diamondbacks to score nine runs.

Despite a Matt Carpenter homerun followed later by a Jeremy Hazelbaker RBI triple in the 7th, the red birds lost 12-7. As the STL Cards and the AZ D-Backs prepare for the second game of the series, the visiting Cardinals will have to hope that their hitting continues to thrive and that their pitching staff can pull things together.

Cardinals bullpen implodes

Up 5-2 headed into the Bottom of the 6th, Jaime Garcia allowed Wellington Castillo and David Paralta to double and triple, respectively, and was taken out after allowing the first run of the inning. Still ahead by two runs, Matt Bowman was the first reliever and gave up a run to his first batter, Chris Owings. Two batters later (after a single put two men on and then a strike out), Kevin Siegrist took Bowman’s place on the mound. The Diamondbacks wouldn’t be any easier for Siegrist.

Kevin’s first opponent, Jean Segura, hit a three-run home run, giving the D-Backs a 7-5 lead. After two more batters resulted in Arizona having runners on 1st and 2nd, Siegrist was replaced by Seth Maness. The next two batters resulted in three RBIs, and Owings earned the 11th RBI for the Diamondbacks two batters after that. If the 6th inning had never happened, the Cardinals would have gone into the Bottom of the 9th protecting a 7-3 lead.

As noted by ESPN, the Cardinals bullpen was handicapped going into Monday’s game, with Siegrist having been sick as of late and Jonathan Broxton and Seung Hwan Oh unavailable against the Diamondbacks due to fatigue.

RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR

Aledmys Diaz is still on fire — Matt Holliday is day-to-day

After going 2-for-4 against the D-Backs on Monday, Aledmys Diaz’s batting average of 0.481 keeps him on top of the MLB. Despite being the hottest hitter in the Majors, Diaz continues to hold the 8th spot in the St. Louis line-up. The old motto, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” would seem to apply, as it is expected Aledmys will remain in that spot for at least the next two games against Arizona.

Matt Holliday’s leg cramps continue to be an issue for the Cardinals outfielder. While not technically considered an “injury,” Holliday remains listed as day-to-day. Matt had gone 1-for-2 against Greinke and the D-Backs on Monday, including his RBI triple in the Top of the 1st.

Where to Watch

The St. Louis Cardinals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Game 2 of the series) is Tuesday, April 26. Tickets are still available for purchase to watch the Cards vs. D-Backs live at Chase Field. The game will be televised on FOX Sports 1 at 8:40 p.m. CST.

After Tuesday’s match-up, the St. Louis Cardinals schedule has two more games in Phoenix before returning home to Busch Stadium on April 29 to host the Washington Nationals. After their series with the Cards, the D-Backs welcome the Colorado Rockies to Arizona on Friday.

[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]

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