Atlanta 4, St. Louis 0
When: 7:35 PM ET, Friday, October 2, 2015
Where: Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature:
61°
Umpires:
Home -
Mark Ripperger, 1B -
Alan Porter, 2B -
Jeff Kellogg, 3B -
Brian O'Nora
Attendance:
24481
By The Sports Xchange
ATLANTA -- With the St. Louis Cardinals not beginning their National League Division Series until Friday, the rainout against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night won't impact the team's pitching plans.
Right-hander John Lackey, who will start Game 1 of Sunday's makeup doubleheader, would still have four days of rest before Game 1 in St. Louis against the winner of the NL wild-card game.
The Braves waited out a delay of nearly two hours before declaring the postponement and scheduling two games for the final day of the regular season, with the first starting at 1:10 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals, who clinched the NL Central on Wednesday and hold the best record in the majors at 100-60, have not announced their postseason pitching plans. Carlos Martinez's shoulder injury and Michael Wacha's recent struggles, though, make Lackey the logical choice to head the rotation.
Lackey is 13-9 with a 2.69 ERA after going 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in five September starts, working at least seven innings each time. The 36-year-old veteran has pitched a team-high 214 innings and leads with 171 strikeouts.
Braves right-hander Shelby Miller will try to end his 24-start winless streak when he faces Lackey in the doubleheader opener. The former Cardinal has lost 16 consecutive decisions in falling to 5-17 despite a 3.15 ERA.
Cardinals rookie outfielder/first baseman Stephen Piscotty will play in at least one of Sunday's games after passing his final concussion test. He has been sidelined since a scary outfield collision in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Piscotty, who was hospitalized day while tests were performed, has played a key role for the Cardinals since being promoted from Triple-A Memphis, batting .310 with seven homers and 39 RBIs in 62 games.
"I know that we'd like to get him back out there," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.
NOTES: RHP Lance Lynn (12-10, 3.06 ERA) will start Sunday's second game for the Cardinals against Braves rookie RHP Matt Wisler (7-8, 5.11). ... It was just the 18th rainout in the 19-year history of Turner Field, the last one coming May 4, 2013. ... The Braves are down to C Ryan Lavarnway as their only healthy receiver with C A.J. Pierzynski (knee) and C Christian Bethancourt (thumb) banged up. ... Pierzynski went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored Friday, boosting his batting average to .300. ... Braves 1B/OF Nick Swisher is bothered by a left forearm strain.
Top Game Performances
Hitting
St. Louis |
|
Atlanta |
Brandon Moss
| Player |
Daniel Castro |
2 |
Hits |
3 |
0 |
RBI |
2 |
0 |
HR |
1 |
3 |
TB |
8 |
1.000 |
Avg |
.600 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
St. Louis
|
5 |
0 |
9 |
.161 |
18 |
9 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
Atlanta
|
9 |
1 |
15 |
.265 |
17 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |