Carpenter Gets First Win, Cardinals Win 6-4

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter picked up his first victory of
 the 2011 season in the Cardinals 6-4 win over the Chicago
 Cubs at Wrigley Field. - Photo courtesy of canada.com

Chris Carpenter is a former Cy Young Award winner and has pitched relatively well this season for the St. Louis Cardinals.  But going into his start on Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, Carpenter had not yet tallied a win on the season.

Despite not having his best outing, Carpenter got enough run support and picked up his first victory of the season in a 6-4 Cardinals win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Carpenter pitched seven innings and allowed four earned runs on 13 hits.  It was hardly his best performance, but good enough to pick up his first victory and push his record to 1-2 on the season. 

Carpenter can thank his offense for the win. 

Matt Holliday had an RBI single in the first inning to give the Cardinals the lead and catcher Yadier Molina had an RBI double in the fourth inning. 

But it was utility infielder Daniel Descalo's two-run single in the eighth inning that broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Cardinals the lead for good. 

Cardinals rookier reliever Eduardo Sanchez pitched a relatively quiet ninth inning to pick up his fourth save of the season. 

Game notes:

• Albert Pujols was 4 for 5 on the night, pushing his average up to .268 on the season.
• Cardinals manager Tony La Russa missed the game due to shingles
• Ryan Theriot had an RBI sacrifice fly in his return to Wrigley Field

Sources:

• St. Louis Cardinals 6 Chicago Cubs 4 - Box score - May 10th
• Chris Carpenter 2011 stats

Follow STLSportsMinute on Twitter!

You may also like:

• Ryan Theriot Slams Wardrobes At Busch Stadium
• Yadier Molina Is Third Among Catchers In Hitting

Become a fan on Facebook!