Lance Lynn cruised through six scoreless innings and the Cardinals didn’t look like a team missing two starting outfielders as they humbled Mike Foltynewicz on the way to claiming a 10-0 win over the Braves on Friday night at SunTrust Park.
Aledmys Diaz contributed four hits to the offensive onslaught that backed Lynn, who scattered four hits and exited with a 0.72 ERA over his past four starts. Freshly promoted Tommy Pham highlighted his two-hit night with a two-run home run in a four-run third inning, and Matt Carpenter added to Foltynewicz’s woes by hitting his own two-run shot in the fourth.
Foltynewicz matched a career high as he allowed seven earned runs over just four innings. The 25-year-old right-hander’s attempt to construct a fourth consecutive strong start quickly evaporated as Jose Martinez and Jedd Gyorko fueled St. Louis’ season-best 16-hit attack with a pair of first-inning doubles.
Called up from Triple-A Memphis to replace Stephen Piscotty — who is on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain — Pham doubled in his first plate appearance during the second inning. The outfielder added to the splendor of his season debut in the third inning when he jumped on a slider and drilled it over the center-field wall. The two-run shot had an exit velocity of 101 mph and traveled a projected 410 feet, per Statcast™.
Since entering Thursday with a .218 batting average, Diaz has recorded two consecutive three-plus-hit games, this latest of which included three RBIs. The Cardinals’ shortstop took advantage of Carpenter’s leadoff walk in the third inning when he followed Yadier Molina’s sacrifice bunt with a two-run double. Diaz added a single in a two-run sixth inning against Josh Collmenter.
Nick Markakis’ fourth-inning double was the 400th of his career, making him the eighth active player to reach this mark. The others are Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Beltran, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Holliday.
Julio Teheran will attempt to halt his SunTrust Park struggles when this three-game series resumes Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Teheran has allowed at least six runs in both of his past two home starts..
