ST. LOUIS _ A day after their lineup was stifled by All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer, the Cardinals responded with their highest-scoring game of the season Monday. The Cardinals beat the Marlins, 14-6.
The offense needed no time to warm up.
The first four Cardinals batters of the game got hits off Marlins starter Jeff Locke. Matt Carpenter, starting at second base for the first time this season, led off with a single and scored when Tommy Pham hit a triple in the following at bat. Pham then scored on a single hit by Stephen Piscotty.
After advancing to third on a single hit by Jedd Gyorko, who later left the game with cramping in his left leg, Piscotty scored when Yadier Molina hit a deep fly ball to center field. Gyorko scored the final run of the inning when Luke Voit grounded out two batters later.
The offense outdid itself in the bottom of the third.
Gyorko led off with his second single of the game to begin the inning. Molina singled as well, and Voit drove them both in with a double, recording his first big league RBIs in the process.
The Marlins then elected to intentionally walk shortstop Paul DeJong, loading the bases for pitcher Adam Wainwright. Wainwright lined a two-RBI single through the gap into center field.
A total of 12 Cardinals came to the plate in seven-run third inning. It was the first time the Cardinals have scored 11 or more runs in the first three innings of a game since May 2, 2012.
Wainwright, who cruised through the first four innings, got roughed up a bit in the fifth. He gave up six runs, allowing at least four earned runs in a single inning for the third time in less than a month.
The Cardinal offense, though, provided Wainwright enough cushion that he still got the win.
Pham finished off his perfect night at the plate with an RBI single in the seventh. Pham finished the game 3-for-3 with a triple and added two walks.
Then, in the eighth, Voit put an exclamation point on the offensive display by blasting his first career home run 429-feet to dead center field. The homer scored two runs and Voit received hearty applause in his first curtain call.
