Lynn, Wong lead Cards to win over Tigers
ST. LOUIS -- Behind a tie-breaking, sixth-inning homer from Kolten Wong, the Cardinals nabbed a 2-1 win over the Tigers at Busch Stadium on Sunday night to avoid being swept for the first time this season.
The Tigers struck first in the matchup of defending division champs, with Miguel Cabrera driving in his fourth run of the series on a first-inning double. Cardinals starter Lance Lynn scattered only four singles throughout the rest of his 7 1/3-inning start, giving the Cardinals ample time to secure their 10th come-from-behind win of the year.
"Lance was great, no question about it," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "That's what you really want from a guy who is taking charge of a staff. That's an outing where we need somebody to step up big, bow his neck and say, 'This is my game.' That's exactly what he did."
Lynn followed a Peter Bourjos triple with his third hit of the year to even the game in the third. Detroit starter Alfredo Simon served up a solo homer to Wong in the sixth, Simon's final inning of work. He allowed seven hits while dropping his second decision of the season.
"He does the same thing every time," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Simon. "He mixes up his pitches, he uses his split effectively, he keeps the hitters off balance, and if he's down with those pitches, he seems to do well on a regular basis."
Detroit did twice throw out runners trying to score, but an 0-for-6 night with runners in scoring position kept them from extending their winning streak to four.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Wong gone: Wong drilled his fifth homer of the season an estimated 434 feet off Simon to break a sixth-inning tie. The Cardinals hit six home runs in the three-game series and have tallied 13 of their last 14 runs via the long ball.
"It was a tough game for both sides, both pitchers were doing really well, and I just wanted to get in scoring position somehow," Wong said. More >
Video: DET@STL: Wong gives Cards a lead with solo home run
Power outage: Ian Kinsler and Cabrera accounted for three of the Tigers' seven hits, but the other seven slots in the batting order couldn't find any traction. Outside of Kinsler and Cabrera, the Tigers' other hitters went a combined 4-for-27. More >
Video: DET@STL: Miggy's RBI double gives Tigers early lead
One pitch, two outs: Seth Maness, who has induced more double plays since the start of the 2013 season than any pitcher in baseball, got a key one to help bail Lynn out of eighth-inning trouble. Lynn took the mound in the eighth with a pitch count of 108, and issued a pair of one-out walks. He was relieved by Maness, who got J.D. Martinez to ground into the double play.
"I just try to make pitches, and whatever happens, happens," Maness said. "It's not something I'm trying to do. I'm going out there, throwing strikes. Good, bad, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen fast."
Video: DET@STL: Maness induces huge double play on one pitch
Multiplicity: Kinsler went 2-for-3, collecting his American League-leading 18th multiple-hit game. Kinsler moved into a second-place tie with Miami's Dee Gordon for the most multi-hit games in all of baseball and is just one game shy of the top spot held by the Cardinals' Matt Carpenter, who also had a pair of hits Sunday. More >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
With Sunday's victory, Matheny became the sixth-fastest manager in Major League history to win 300 regular-season games. Matheny reached the milestone mark in the 523rd game he managed, trailing only Earl Weaver (460), Ralph Houk (469), Davey Johnson (492), Sparky Anderson (518) and Alvin Dark (521).
QUOTABLE
"A blind squirrel finds the acorn? Something like that? A squirrel nest? I don't know." -- Lynn, on collecting his first RBI of the season and his rotation-high third hit of the year.
"Two-seamer, just got too much of the plate. It's one of those things, we didn't want Wong sitting on a changeup and tried to back him up and got too much of the plate." -- Tigers catcher James McCann on Wong's home run.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Cardinals hoped instant replay could help them take a fifth-inning lead, but home-plate umpire Larry Vanover's out call on Carpenter stood after a review. Carpenter broke toward home on Jhonny Peralta's grounder to Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos and became the second out of the inning on a bang-bang play.
Video: DET@STL: Tigers get out at the plate after challenge
WHAT'S NEXT
Tigers: Lefty Kyle Lobstein makes the start as the Tigers return home to begin a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lobstein will be making his first career start against the Brewers, who counter with right-hander Mike Fiers. First pitch is set for 7:08 p.m. ET.
Cardinals: The Cardinals will begin a seven-game road trip with a 6:10 pm CT game against the Mets on Monday. Right-hander John Lackey will match up against New York ace Matt Harvey in the first of four games to be played this week at Citi Field.
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