ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals rookie Juan Yepez made the most of it Albert Pujols as a teammate and mentor.
Yepez had his first multi-home game of his career, Paul Goldschmidt hit 4 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI’s, and Adam Wainwright threw seven scoreless innings on Monday-evening in the Cardinals’ 9-0 loss against the Miami Marlins.
“It’s so much fun,” said Yepez, whose five RBIs matched a team game high for the season. “As if you’re telling me I’d be playing with Albert Pujols, I’ll say, ‘Are you kidding?'”
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Yepez has made some adjustments.
“One is mental, in terms of what he does with his approach and he stays in the middle of the field,” Marmol said. “The second mechanical and not opening that front. But it has adapted really well and we are now seeing the results.”
Wainwright (6-5) gave up seven hits in his first five innings, but escaped trouble with nine strikeouts. He retired the last seven batters he faced and ended with his 190th career victory.
“It’s a nice, round number,” Wainwright said. “I’m just happy we got the win.”
The Cardinals defeated the Marlins for the sixth time in their last seven games at Busch Stadium. Miami has lost three of its last four games.
Goldschmidt’s solo home run in the first, his second in as many games, covered 402 feet before crashing off the Big Mac Land backboard into left field. Yepez’ three-run blast in the fourth went to almost exactly the same location as Goldschmidt’s and gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
“Just a lot of work,” Yepez said of his adjustments. “Sometimes I still do it. So I just had to trust in the process, trust in the work and eventually I quit.”
Goldschmidt added to the scoreboard with an RBI double from the opposite field from the right field wall in the fifth.
“He has the ability to use the whole field,” Marmol said of Goldschmidt. “That ball was hammered to the right. He stayed on that field very well.”
Yepez — who has three homeruns in his last two games — then hit Marlins reliever Richard Bleier for a two-run homer to make it 7-0 in the sixth. Dylan Carlson drove in a run with a triple and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Marlins-starter Pablo López (5-4) gave up five runs in five innings. It was the second time in 15 starts this season that López gave up more than one homerun.
“I couldn’t change the eye level,” said López. “You have to use your fastball to change the eye level … we tried to do it. I just didn’t get the fastball there.”
AT FURTHER REVIEW
Marlins second baseman Jon Berti extended his hit streak to 11 games with a single in the third inning and stole second base for his 22nd stolen base.
He then tried to finish third on a wild pitch. Third base umpire Erich Bacchus originally called him safe, but the call was overturned on replay after a challenge from Cardinals.
ROSTER MOVES
Marlins: 3B Brian Anderson recovered (left lower back muscle spasm) from 10-day injured list and INF Luke Williams to Triple-A Jacksonville.
Cardinals: Selected rookie RHP James Naile and rookie OF Conner Capel from Triple-A Memphis. Both made their debuts; Naile threw a scoreless eighth and Capel played left field as a defensive substitute in the ninth.
TRAINERS ROOM
Marlins: 2B Jazz Chisholm (back cramps) missed his second game in a row. Manager Don Mattingly said Chisholm would be available from the bench.
Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (right shoulder strain) was placed on the 15-day IL and OF Harrison Bader (right foot plantar fasciitis) was placed on the 10-day IL.
NEXT ONE
RHP Dakota Hudson (5-4, 3.72 ERA) will start for the Cardinals in the middle game of a three-game set Tuesday against the Marlins and LHP Braxton Garrett (1-2, 4.08 ERA). Hudson took the loss in his last start on Thursday in Milwaukee, giving up 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings. Garrett gave up 2 runs in 4 1/3 innings in his first career start against St. Louis on June 14.
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