Cardinals fall to Brewers, lose Carlos Martinez to injury
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Friday night was a double whammy for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Not only did they lose 4-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers, watching their NL Central lead fall to three games over Pittsburgh, they also lost right-hander Carlos Martinez to an apparent shoulder injury.
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Martinez was forced from the game after just seven pitches. On replay, he could be seen shaking his arm, attempting to get the shoulder loosened up after several of those pitches. Manager Mike Matheny and the team’s athletic trainer quickly came out to check on Martinez, who appeared visibly upset. He walked off the field with his head in his glove, which is hardly a visual the Cardinals wanted to see this late in the season.
We’ll know more about the type of injury Martinez suffered perhaps as soon as Saturday. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch provided this initial report.
The Cardinals are working toward getting Adam Wainwright back for the postseason, but that’s still not a guarantee coming off a torn Achilles.
To lose Martinez would be a blow regardless. The 24-year-old right-hander has been outstanding this season, posting a 3.01 ERA and a 184/63 K/BB ratio over 179 1/3 innings. In what promises to be a competitive NL playoff bracket, the Cardinals will need to hope for good news.
METS LOWER MAGIC NUMBER TO ONE
Celebration time is drawing near for the New York Mets. With Friday’s 12-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds and Washington’s 8-2 loss to Philadelphia, the Mets magic number to clinch the NL East is one. That means another win on Saturday — or another Nationals loss — is all that’s required to clinch their first postseason birth since 2006.
They won’t be home Saturday, but we imagine they’ll just be happy to get it out of the way. With Matt Harvey on the hill, it still stands to be a special occasion.
As for Friday’s win, it was another great night for the offense. Lucas Duda led the way, connecting for two three-run homers. Curtis Granderson added his own three-run blast, while David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy and starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard each added two hits.
Syndergaard was also dominant on the hill, allowing two runs and striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings. At one point, he retired 16 straight.
RANGERS WIN EIGHTH STRAIGHT AGAINST ASTROS
When the chips have been down this season, the Texas Rangers have been the team to beat in the AL West.
That was the case again on Friday as the Rangers continued their domination of the Houston Astros, winning 6-2 at Minute Maid Park. With the victory, the Rangers have now defeated Houston in eight consecutive games. That overpowering stretch is a big reason they now own a commanding 4 1/2 game lead in the division.
The Rangers made quick work of Scott Kazmir on Friday, scoring six runs on 10 hits in his 3 2/3 innings. Kazmir was brought to Houston for games just like this one, but the Rangers proved too much to handle. Shin-soo Choo was the biggest thorn in his side. Choo capped a second inning rally with a two-run single. He later added a solo home run against Kazmir. Prince Fielder added two hits and two RBIs of his own.
With the loss, Houston is now a disappointing 7-15 in September. To make matters worse, they also lost Jose Altuve after a collision with Carlos Correa. Altuve appeared to take a forearm to the head. The injury is not believed to be serious, but the team will know more on Saturday.
The last thing the reeling Astros need is to be without Altuve, even for a game or two. The margin for error is dwindling.
CARLOS CARASSCO, INDIANS ONE-HIT RESTING ROYALS
Carlos Carrasco picked a good night to be extra dominant. Less than 24 hours after the Kansas City Royals won the AL Central, they elected to rest their entire starting lineup on Friday. Carrasco took advantage, overwhelming the Royals reserves to the tune of one hit and a career-best 15 strikeouts in Cleveland’s 6-0 win.
Yeah, we can’t ignore the fact that Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas were nowhere near the lineup card. Carrasco’s night obviously would have been more difficult had they played. But he definitely controlled what he could control, and that’s the nine Royals in front of him.
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Actually, neutralized might be a better word. All that stood between Carrasco and potentially going for a no-hitter was Alex Rios’ one-out single in the seventh. He also walked two, but was never truly threatened during his eight innings.
It was a banner night for Carrasco, who also allowed just one hit in a start against the Rays on July 1. Perhaps he’s this year’s Jake Arrieta, meaning that elusive no-no will finally come in 2016.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
