ST. LOUIS — Matt Carpenter caught a break. Many would say, “Finally.” Hitting under .100 for all of spring training and the regular season, too, Carpenter had struck out a bunch but many of his batted balls had been hard-hit outs.
And he nearly was headed for another heartbreak when, as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game, Carpenter’s long drive to right field—of home run distance, certainly—nestled briefly into the glove of leaping Philadelphia right fielder Roman Quinn, who had gone above the wall to make a play. But, suddenly, the ball escaped Quinn’s clutches as he couldn’t control the catch and the ball bounced into the Cardinals’ bullpen where the relievers were ecstatic.
Carpenter, who had been put on notice a week ago by president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 Cardinals lead as he solved Phillies ace Aaron Nola’s knuckle curve. Carpenter’s second homer of the season, the first of which hit the foul pole, merited his second curtain call of the season.
