Final
Vazquez dominates Cardinals, Atlanta sweeps Cards
Sep 13, 2009 - 10:25 PM ST. LOUIS(AP) -- Javier Vazquez doesn't think he was ever this efficient.Vazquez needed just 94 pitches to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Atlanta Braves roughed up Chris Carpenter in a 9-2 win on Sunday.
"I don't remember throwing a complete game with less than 100 pitches," Vazquez said. "Usually I'm at 100 pitches by the seventh inning. I feel really good about that."
Vazquez allowed a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker and then retired the next 17 batters before Schumaker reached on an infield single in the sixth. It was the 25th complete game of Vazquez's career and his second of the season.
Vazquez (13-9) has won his last three decisions. He stuck out eight while walking none. He threw just 94 pitches.
St. Louis hadn't been swept since losing three in a row at Houston July 20-22 and hadn't been swept at home since losing four straight to the Colorado Rockies June 5-8.
"We got beat in two one-run games," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Today, we just got pounded."
Carpenter, a Cy Young candidate, had his worst outing of the season. He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in six innings.
"I made some bad pitches but I also made some good pitches," Carpenter said. "I just wasn't able to make a pitch to get out of the inning, bottom line."
After getting two quick outs to start the third, Carpenter (16-4) gave up six runs. With the bases loaded, Adam LaRoche hit a two-run double down the right-field line. Yunel Escobar then singled in two runs and Matt Diaz finished the scoring with a two-run ground-rule double.
"We were just able to put together some big hits with two outs," Kelly Johnson said. "Just getting those big hits, that was the ballgame."
Atlanta finished Carpenter's day in the sixth when Nate McLouth singled to right to score Diaz, who had been hit by a pitch leading off.
"We did a lot of hitting against a great pitcher," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I don't know what it was today about Carpenter. We were able to hit line drives and find holes. Even in the first two innings we hit about four balls really hard."
The loss was Carpenter's first since June 30th when the San Francisco Giants beat the Cardinals 6-3 snapping his 11-game winning streak. Carpenter's league-leading 2.16 ERA jumped to 2.45. He now trails the Giants' Tim Lincecum (2.34).
The Braves made it 8-0 in the eighth when David Ross doubled home Diaz off reliever Brad Thompson.
LaRoche hit a solo shot in the ninth, his 22nd of the season. He has now hit safely in 26 of his last 29 games.
Matt Holliday had a two-run single in the ninth for the Cardinals.
"He's had a good year," Holliday said about Vazquez. "He got a big lead early and it allowed him to dictate how he pitched and he made it tough on us."
NOTES: The Cardinals are now 5-2 against Atlanta when Carpenter starts...Braves C Brian McCann whose two run double was the game winner yesterday, is 8-for-13 (.615) since snapping an 0-for-20 spell last Thursday.
- Cardinals 2, Braves 9 - FINAL
ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N McLouth cf 5 1 4 1 0 0 0 .270
M Prado 3b 5 1 1 0 0 1 4 .291
G Anderson lf 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .275
R Gorecki lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .217
A LaRoche 1b 5 2 2 3 0 1 0 .274
Y Escobar ss 4 1 1 2 1 1 0 .303
K John
Sep 13 4:25 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MATT HOLLIDAY SCORED JOE THURSTON AND SKIP
SCHUMAKER
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M HOLLIDAY ON FIRST, A PUJOLS ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 9
ST LOUIS 2 BOTTOM,9TH
DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: R LUDWICK (.273, 0-FOR-3)
Braves 9, Cardinals 2 Bot 9, 0 OutsSep 13 4:23 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY ADAM LAROCHE (22) TO RIGHT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 9TH OFF BRAD THOMPSON.
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 9, ST LOUIS 0
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: Y ESCOBAR (.304, 1-FOR-3, BB, 2 RBI)
Braves 9, Cardinals 0 Top 9, 0 OutsSep 13 4:12 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY DAVID ROSS SCORED MATT DIAZ
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D ROSS ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 8
ST LOUIS 0 TOP,8TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: J VAZQUEZ (.197, 0-FOR-3)
Braves 8, Cardinals 0 Top 8, 0 OutsSep 13 3:55 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY NATE MCLOUTH SCORED MATT DIAZ
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, N MCLOUTH ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 7
ST LOUIS 0 TOP,6TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: M PRADO (.292, 1-FOR-3)
Braves 7, Cardinals 0 Top 6, 0 OutsSep 13 3:29 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MATT DIAZ SCORED KELLY JOHNSON AND YUNEL ESCOBAR
SITUATION: 6 RUNS IN, M DIAZ ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 6
ST LOUIS 0 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: D ROSS (.256, 0-FOR-1)
Braves 6, Cardinals 0 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 13 2:54 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY YUNEL ESCOBAR SCORED ADAM LAROCHE AND GARRET
ANDERSON
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, Y ESCOBAR ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 4
ST LOUIS 0 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: K JOHNSON (.222, 1-FOR-1)
Braves 4, Cardinals 0 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 13 2:50 PM - NL
AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY ADAM LAROCHE SCORED MARTIN PRADO AND NATE MCLOUTH
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, A LAROCHE ON SECOND, G ANDERSON ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: ATLANTA 2
ST LOUIS 0 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: Y ESCOBAR (.303, 0-FOR-1)
Braves 2, Cardinals 0 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 13 2:50 PM
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