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Former Triple-A Teammates Deliver Key Performances in Cardinals 4-1 Defeat of Rival Pirates
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- Former Triple-A Teammates Deliver Key Performances in Cardinals 4-1 Defeat of Rival Pirates
Roundtable Sports' John Denton breaks down the first MLB win for Cardinals' left-hander Quinn Mathews and the two-run homer he got from catcher and good friend Jimmy Crooks in the 4-1 victory over the Pirates.
When Cardinals' left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews and catcher JimmyCrooks worked together previously at Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis for three seasons,there was always a distinct yin and yang balance to their relationship as a battery.
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Mathews, a native of Mission Viejo, Cal., and a Standfordgrad, is definitely the more serious of the two and at times he tends to get abit negative when critically picking apart his performances, Then, there's theeasy-going Crooks, a Texan with twang and someone who would often remind Mathewsnot to take himself – or the moment – too seriously.
The Mathews-Crooks bond worked well at the big-league levelon Friday night as the crafty left-hander notched his first MLB win, and hisgood buddy behind the plate offered up quite the assist with a towering two-runhomer.
Mathews limited Pittsburgh to one run and five hits over 52/3 innings and Crooks shredded a 416-foot, two-run homer as the Cardinalstopped the Pirates 4-1 in the first meeting of a three-game series at BuschStadium.
"That was big for both of us, honestly, putting together a quality outing like that, but I was able to get through six (innings) like we had hoped for a Quality Start," Mathews said of working with Crooks behind the plate. "I was a good game not just for myself, but for Jimmy as well with the unity that we've had for almost three years now."
The Cardinals won for the second time in as many nightsafter stopping a season-long losing streak at five on Thursday. St. Louis willsend surging starter Kyle Leahy (10-4, 3.13 ERA) to the mound on Saturdayafternoon. Leahy has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 straight starts – adominant stretch where he has pitched to a 1.28 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 11walks.
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The Cardinals got a big break in the eighth inning when a Pirates rally was thwarted by some bad luck. After Bryan Reynolds walked, Oneil Cruz laced a 105.4 mph missile toward the right side that clipped Reynolds on the right heel. Rather than having runners on first and third, the batted ball making contact with Reynolds ended the inning.
The Pirates (65-71) also made three errors defensively to aid the win for the Cardinals (68-68). Ryane Fernandez pitched two scoreless innings behind Mathews, and Ryne Stanek picked up his second save -- and the first since the Opening Day win over the Rays.
Cards Rookie Hits First Busch Stadium Homer, but Heads to 10-Day IL with Ankle Injury
Mathews (1-2) made his MLB debut in Toronto with a solidouting on Aug. 1, and he started his next two games in Cincinnati andPhiladelphia. Friday's start was his first time pitching at Busch Stadium, andhe faced the minimum over the first three innings of the game. His command issues from Triple-A behind him, Mathews struck out seven and walked just one. The only run he yieldedcame in the fifth inning after the Cardinals had already built a comfortable 3-0lead.
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Afterward, he admitted that pitching at Busch Stadium for the first time gave him a little added motivation.
"When you think about debuting, it's always at home and never on the road," Mathews said. "I had three straight on the road and it was a great feeling to finally come out here in Busch and pitch in front of these fans. And my family was able to come out (from California), so it was an awesome feeling."
Added Crooks, while referring to Mathews and the 14 swings and misses he got on Friday night: "Oh, he was gross. He established that heater early, and everybody knew it. And once he started doing that, everything else opened up with his arsenal. His slider, changeup and curveball were working today. So, it's definitely fun to catch and see."
Mathews got all the help he would need from his catcher andgood buddy in the bottom of the third inning against Pirates' starter JaredJones (2-6). After Nolan Gorman drilled a double to wall in right-center andmoved up to third on an error by Cruz, Crooks worked thecount to 2-2 after falling behind early. The 25-year-old catcher used his quickhands to turn on a low-and-in slider and hit it well over the right field wall.Crooks' fifth homer of his rookie season left the bat at 104.9 mph and gave theCards a 2-0 lead.
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The long ball by Crooks was the 43rd of the season by aCardinals' rookie – tied for the second-most in MLB with Toronto and trailing behind only the 60 that the White Sox have hammered.
Another Cardinals' rookie, Nathan Church, drove in theCardinals' third run of the night with a sacrifice fly after Jordan Walker and JoseFermin had singled. Walker (three hits) and Fermin (two hits) did most of the heavy lifting offensively on a night when St. Louis had just eight hits.
