3/6 Grapefruit League Recap

The Cardinals have quietly, or not so quietly, depending on how you see it, become one of the best teams in the major leagues.  After winning the World Series in 2011, they reached the National League Championship Series in 2012 before falling to San Francisco.

One of the keys to their success has been their star left fielder, Matt Holliday.  Holliday, who is 33, has been a member of the Cardinals since the 2010 season when he signed with the club after spending his entire career with Colorado until being traded to Oakland during the 2009 season.  Holliday has driven in over 100 runs in two of the three seasons with St. Louis, with the only exception being in 2011 when Holliday only played in 124 games and drove in 75 runs.

Holliday has gotten off to a slow start this spring, only hitting .214, but hit his second homer of the Grapefruit League, a two run shot, in the Cardinals 7-2 win over Miami on Wednesday.  If Holliday can stay healthy, the Cardinals will feature a power-packed lineup that will also include Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig and Yadier Molina, as well as David Freese.



Scores from Wednesday:

St. Louis 7, Miami 2
Detroit 4, Toronto 1
Philadelphia 6, Washington 3
Pittsburgh 9, Boston 3

Notes from Wednesday:
St. Louis got a two run home run from Matt Holliday to go along with a two run homer and a double from Oscar Taveras, who finished the game 2-3 with a pair of RBI.  Jake Westbrook pitched three innings in the game, allowing one run on four hits and striking out two Marlins.  Donovan Solano went 2-3 with an RBI for the Marlins in the loss.  Detroit got a solo home run from Torii Hunter, his only hit of the game, and two RBI from Bryan Holaday to beat Toronto, 4-1.  Justin Verlander went four innings for Detroit, allowing just one hit and no runs while recording three strikeouts.  Jim Negrych went 1-1 with a solo shot for the Blue Jays.  Michael Young and Ryan Howard each went 1-3 with an RBI, while Laynce Nix went 1-3 with two RBI for the Phillies in their 6-3 win over the Nationals.  Roy Halladay started for the Phillies, going four innings and giving up just two hits and no runs with two strikeouts.  Stephen Strasburg was the starter for Washington, striking out six Phillies in 3 2/3 innings of work in which he gave up five hits and two runs.  Finally, Andrew McCutchen went 1-3 with two RBI and Starling Marte added his second triple of the spring as Pittsburgh beat Boston, 9-3.  Jon Lester started for Boston, giving up one run on two hits and three walks in his four innings of work.  Lester also recorded three strikeouts.