ST. LOUIS _ Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez recorded his first ever shutout Saturday as the Cardinals won their second straight game with a 7-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals are now 28-32.
Martinez's performance was an emphatic response to his last start, a loss against Cincinnati in which he allowed more than three earned runs for the first time since April 20. This was Martinez's first career complete game, despite the fact that he pitched nine scoreless innings May 20 against the Giants. The Cardinals eventually lost the game in extra innings.
It was the first complete game for a Cardinals pitcher since Adam Wainwright threw a three-hit shutout of the Marlins on July 16, 2016.
"I think he would tell you it was his best," manager Mike Matheny said of Martinez's outing. "What more could you want? He had strikeouts when he wanted. He pitched to contact. He had the live fastball and threw it late to show that he still had it."
The one moment of concern for Martinez, who allowed just four hits while striking out 11 and walking one, came not when he was at the mound but at the plate. Batting in the seventh inning, Martinez was struck in the hand by a pitch from Phillies reliever Jeanmar Gomez. Martinez laid in the batters box for about a minute before walking to first base.
Offensively, the Cardinals roared to life. The seven runs scored are their most since May 21. Jedd Gyorko got the scoring started with a two-RBI double off the wall in the fourth inning that drove home Dexter Fowler and Stephen Piscotty. Gyorko then scored on a balk by Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta. Catcher Eric Fryer, starting in place of the injured Yadier Molina, drove home Kolten Wong to make the score 4-0.
The Cardinals added three more runs in the seventh. Matt Carpenter drove in two with a double to right field. Carpenter has now recorded a hit in each of his four games in the leadoff slot. Gyorko finished the scoring by plating Martinez with a sacrifice fly.
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