ST. LOUIS _ In a burst of three tightly-bunched rallies helped along by power and a few Mets errors, the Cardinals gave starter Michael Wacha far more run support than he needed Wednesday.
Wacha, finding his footing, struck out eight and pitched six superb innings to lead the Cardinals to a 9-1 victory against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. Wacha improved to 4-1.
The offense scored all nine runs in a three-inning gush, right in the middle of the game, and seven of them came against Mets' starter Steven Matz. Kolten Wong had two infield singles in back-to-back at-bats in the third and fourth innings, and he scored in each inning. Wacha had two sacrifice bunts, and because of faulty plays by the Mets he was safe at first each time. He scored two runs.
Dexter Fowler, batting second and in his fifth different spot in the lineup in his previous five games he played, had two RBIs without getting a hit. He hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to bring home Wong, and in the fourth inning he worked a bases-loaded walk from Matz to push home Wong.
The Cardinals widened the gap in the fifth inning with Jedd Gyorko's first home run of the season. It was the 100th of his career.
Gyorko started at third base in Matt Carpenter's place, and he was robbed of a single in the third inning because of the Mets' shift. He flew out in the fourth inning. When he got an at-bat in a third consecutive inning he connected for the home run to the bullpen in left-center field. That widened the Cardinals' lead to the final score.
Wacha struck out the first two batters he faced, and he retired six of the first seven batters he faced in the game. Four of them swung and missed at strike three.
The third inning was his only problematic inning as he allowed three hits and a walk to ease the Mets to their lone run. Wacha then sped through the final three innings of his evening. The Mets got only one base runner, and Wacha struck out the side in the fifth inning.
John Brebbia earned the save with three scoreless innings after Wacha's departure.
The win was the Cardinals' ninth in their previous 11 games. They conclude the series against the Mets on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium, and the Cardinals will be going for their first home series victory against a team with a winning record. They've won four of five on the home stand, which has included a three-game sweep of the Reds.
