The St. Louis Cardinals have been searching for more offense. Dylan Carlson has been searching for his lost swing.
The Cardinals’ 8-5 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday brought a night of discovery. Carlson hit an RBI single and a two-run double to pace St. Louis’ attack.
“It’s really good to see,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “He needed that, we needed that. Hopefully, that’s a step that allows him to continue playing with more confidence.”
The Cardinals have another weapon to deploy as their four-game series with the Rockies continues on Saturday. Colorado won the series opener 3-2 on Thursday.
The switch-hitting Carlson collected his first three RBIs in his 25th game of the season.
Carlson, 25, sustained a shoulder injury during a spring training collision with teammate Jordan Walker in the outfield.
Carlson struggled after returning from the injured list in early May, and he brought a .128 batting average into the Friday game. Carlson has been used in spot starts against left-handed pitchers and as a defensive replacement while trying to regain his stroke, especially from the left side.
“He popped in (Friday) and we talked for a little bit,” Marmol said. “He’s continuing to work and we’re hoping that carries into the game sooner than later.”
Marmol will give the ball on Saturday to Kyle Gibson (4-2, 3.69 ERA), who has just one quality start in his past five outings. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings in his latest start, on Monday against the Houston Astros.
Gibson is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies.
Colorado, which has lost six of its past seven games, has also received an offensive lift in the current series. Michael Toglia is 3-for-7 with a triple and four RBIs since his recall from the minors.
The Rockies will start Ryan Feltner (1-5, 6.22 ERA) on Saturday as he looks to recover from consecutive rough outings. He yielded a combined 15 runs (13 earned) on 18 hits, including three homers, and two walks in 8 2/3 innings against the Cleveland Guardians and the Cincinnati Reds.
In a 13-3 loss to the Reds on Monday, Feltner allowed a key two-out, two-run triple to Cincinnati’s Will Benson on a high fastball with an 0-2 count.
“In that particular at-bat, the fastball for a strike was elevated — swing through,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “The next fastball was down a little bit lower, and (Benson) barreled it. It had to be a little bit more inside or a little bit higher.”
Feltner likes to pitch aggressively with his fastball, but he needs to hit his spots more consistently.
“What you saw (Monday) was he was not down enough or not up enough,” Black said. “He just didn’t execute enough pitches when he really needed to.”
Feltner won his lone career start against the Cardinals despite giving up five runs in 5 2/3 innings on Aug. 9, 2002.
The Rockies sustained another injury on Friday when second baseman Brendan Rodgers exited the game. He pulled up sore while running out a ground ball in the fourth inning.
Before the series, Colorado put slugger Kris Bryant (rib) and outfielder Sean Bouchard (ankle) on the 10-day injured list.
