Cardinals 6 - 1 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

D'Backs try to go 2-0 versus Cards

Apr 2, 2013 - 2:26 PM

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(Sports Network) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have once again started their season on a winning note. Now they take aim at a series win on Tuesday when they play the middle test of a season-opening three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field.

Arizona continued its Opening Day success on Monday, as Gerardo Parra hit three doubles and matched a career-high with four hits, while A.J. Pollock had three hits and drove in two runs to power the Diamondbacks to a 6-2 win.

Ian Kennedy was the beneficiary of Arizona's 15 hits, but he was tremendous on the hill, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings. He also struck out eight to help the D'Backs to their seventh straight Opening Day win.

"(Kennedy) was awesome. I don't know how else to explain it," Diamondback manager Kirk Gibson said. "He just had everything working."

Arizona, which opened last season with four consecutive wins, will hand the ball on Tuesday to righty Trevor Cahill, who had an up-and-down first year with the Diamondbacks last season, going 13-12 with a 3.78 ERA.

An 18-game winner for the Oakland Athletics in 2010, Cahill was terrific this spring, as he pitched to a 1.86 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 19 1/3 Cactus League innings.

St. Louis, meanwhile, will counter with lefty Jaime Garcia, who was hampered by a shoulder injury last season and was only 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA in 20 starts. The shoulder also forced him to leave Game 2 of the Cardinals' NLDS matchup with the Washington Nationals.

However, Garcia appeared healthy this spring and was 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA in a team-high 29 Grapefruit League innings.

"I wanted to see him go out there and just take the ball and pitch every day that we gave him the chance to and not over think," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "He came out and did just that. He did a very nice job of, in my opinion, taking a step forward in his growth as a pitcher.

"I'm really excited to watch a full season of that. The stuff, nobody had any questions about whether this guy's stuff was any good. He's in a different league with some of the movement he has on his pitches."

Daniel Descalso and Matt Holliday each drove in a run in Monday's loss for the Cardinals, while Adam Wainwright absorbed the loss, surrendering four runs (3 earned) and 11 hits in six innings.

The D-backs dropped five of six games to the Cardinals last season.






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