Incredible comeback brings Cards to 19-6 as they pick up 7th straight win
Despite a brutal outing for starter Carlos Martinez, the Cardinals pulled out a miraculous 10-9 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, overcoming a 5-0 deficit to pick up their seventh consecutive victory. The offensive outburst, highlighted by a Mark Reynolds grand slam in the first, a Kolten Wong game-tying single in the seventh, and a Tony Cruz go-ahead two RBI double in the same inning, brought the club’s record to 19-6, making it the best 25 game start to a Cardinals season since they were known as the Perfectos back in 1899.
Game Recaps: STL Today, MLB.com, St. Louis Sports Page
Up Next: The Cardinals square off against the Cubs again on Tuesday, with lefty Tyler Lyons, who will be recalled from AAA Memphis, scheduled to get the start against 25-year-old Kyle Hendricks. First pitch- 7:15pm CT.
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Tuivailala likely to be optioned to make room for Tuesday starter Lyons
From Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com:
#stlcards need to make roster move to make room for Tyler Lyons. Sam Tuivailala packing up his stuff post game. Connect the dots.
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) May 5, 2015
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Cards sign veteran first baseman Dan Johnson to minor league deal
After being released in late April by the Cincinnati Reds, veteran first baseman Dan Johnson has agreed to a minor league contract with the Cardinals, who assigned him to AAA Memphis, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.
Johnson, 35, tallied 10 walks over 40 plate appearances at the Reds’ AAA affiliate, but he also only had three hits so far this season. In parts of nine seasons with five teams in the big leagues, Johnson is a mere .236/.337/.409 hitter in 431 plate appearances. His .279/.400/.505 slash line at the AAA level is much more encouraging though, as a depth piece for the redbirds.
With Matt Adams the starter at first and Mark Reynolds serving as a quality backup, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Johnson at the big-league level any time some barring an injury or two, but he should provide a good veteran presence for the AAA club in Memphis.
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Brewers fire Roenicke, announce Craig Counsell as new manager
Following a 7-18 start to the season, the Milwaukee Brewers announced Sunday evening that they’ve fired manager Ron Roenicke after just over four seasons at the helm.
The Brewers posted a 342-331 overall record during Roenicke’s time as manager. He led the Brewers to a NL Central division championship in 2011, and the team also had winning records in 2012 and 2014. However, the club collapsed badly down the stretch last season and started this year off 7-18, leading to much speculation that a major shakeup could be coming.
At a press conference Monday morning, the club announced that 16-year MLB veteran infielder Craig Counsell would replace Roenicke as manager. The 44-year-old, who played for the Brewers from 2007-2011, signed a three-year deal with the club that should keep him at the helm through 2017.
Read more: MLB Trade Rumors, theScore
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Game Preview: Cubs come to town to kick off four-game series
After sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates out of town Sunday with three consecutive extra-inning walk off victories, the Cardinals will host the Chicago Cubs on Monday night at Busch as the division rivals kick off a four game series.
Carlos Martinez, who’s 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 26 innings to start the season, will get the ball for the redbirds, while the Cubs will oppose with lefty Travis Wood, who sports a good 2-1 record with a 3.04 ERA.
First pitch is 7:10pm CT on Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN, and the Cardinals Radio Network.
Game previews: MLB.com, The Sports Network (via theScore)
Cardinals Starting Lineup:
Jay CF
Carpenter 3B
Holliday LF
Peralta SS
Reynolds 1B
Heyward RF
Wong 2B
Cruz C
Martinez P
Stay tuned for updates
Article image used under Creative Commons from user Gimpy56. No changes made. Image licence.
