Gant, Ozuna spark St. Louis to victory over Cleveland (Jun 26, 2018)
ST. LOUIS (AP) Spot starter John Gant pitched one-hit ball over a career-high seven innings, Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run double and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0 on Monday night.
It was the third consecutive win for the Cardinals and the 10,000th regular season victory for the franchise. St. Louis joined the Braves, Cubs, Giants, Pirates and Dodgers among NL teams to reach the milestone.
Cleveland had won seven straight. Mike Clevinger (6-3) allowed two runs over five innings, and the Indians had just four hits.
Gant (2-2) started in place of Michael Wacha, who went on the disabled list last week with an oblique strain. He allowed only an infield single to Yan Gomes that hit third base in the third inning. He walked five and struck out four. It was his first win in three starts this season.
St. Louis closer Bud Norris relieved Austin Gomber with two on and no outs in the ninth. He got a strikeout and a double play to record his 15th save.
Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks put two runners on in the eighth with two outs but got Edwin Encarnacion to ground out.
It was the second shortest outing of the season for Clevinger, who allowed six hits and walked two. Clevinger had pitched at least six innings in five straight starts before facing St. Louis.
St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the third. Matt Carpenter singled for one of his three hits, and Greg Garcia walked. With one out, Ozuna hit a one-out double to score both runners.
Kolten Wong added an RBI double in the sixth, and Harrison Bader singled in a run in the eighth.
This was Cleveland's first visit to St. Louis since 2012, and the Indians fell to 15-9 all-time against the Cardinals.
RAIN DELAY
First pitch was pushed back due to a thunderstorm in the area. The game began after a 1-hour, 21-minute delay.
TRAINING ROOM
Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco (right elbow contusion) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session. He got hurt when Minnesota's Joe Mauer hit a line drive that struck Carrasco on the right elbow on June 16 in Cleveland. The plan is to throw 40 pitches off the mound Wednesday and then perhaps make a minor league rehab appearance as early as Saturday.
Cardinals: CF Tommy Pham did not start for the second consecutive game due to flu-like symptoms, but he came in a double-switch situation in the ninth inning. ... RHP Matt Bowman threw a fastball-only session in the bullpen before the game. He will receive an injection to stimulate blood flow to his fingers Tuesday, according to general manager Michael Girsch. ... Girsch said RHP Adam Wainwright (right elbow inflammation) should be able to begin playing catch next week.
UP NEXT
Indians: Corey Kluber (11-3, 2.10) will be making his second career start against the Cardinals. In the May 13, 2015 start, Kluber struck out a career-high 18 batters, matching the Indians franchise record for a nine-inning game.
Cardinals: Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.24) has dropped his last three decisions and allowed a season-high eight hits and seven runs in his last outing at Milwaukee. The Cardinals have lost his last five games, including all four since his return from the disabled list.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
