MIAMI — The last two innings that he has pitched have not been kind to Chris Roycroft.
On Saturday, Roycroft’s fielding error and two balls that combined didn’t reach the pitcher’s mound led to two runs and a Cardinals’ loss to the Cubs.
His luck wasn’t any better on Tuesday night.
Called on to try to save a game against the Marlins in the 10th inning, Roycroft failed to cover first base on a ground ball, then gave up an infield hit that drove in the tying run.
A two-out single through the infield followed, giving the win to the Marlin and dropping the Cardinals back to .500 again.
The Cardinals were trying to get through the game without using any of their top three relievers – Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals got home runs from Paul Goldschmidt in the first, Brendan Donovan in the second and Alec Burleson in the fourth as they scored seven runs through the first four innings … They had nine hits through the first four innings but after Burleson’s homer the Cardinals were held to two hits the rest of the game … In the 10th, a fly ball by Brandon Crawford advanced the automatic runner to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Dylan Carlson.
On the mound: Lance Lynn pitched into the sixth inning despite allowing six runs, five earned, on 10 hits. He was able to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth with back-to-back strikeouts … The Marlins tied the game with two runs in the sixth before Matthew Liberatore, Kyle Leahy and John King combined to retire 11 hitters in a row to send the game to the 10th.
Key stat: Goldschmidt’s two-run homer in the first gave the Cardinals their first runs in the opening inning in the last 10 games. They scored seven runs through the fourth after scoring a combined six runs through the fourth in their last five games, a span of 20 innings.
Worth noting: Crawford was set to make his first career start at third base, but shifted to shortstop when Masyn Winn was a late scratch because of illness … Willson Contreras served as the DH for Memphis on Tuesday and had a single and scored a run in three at-bats. He is scheduled to catch five innings on Wednesday.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson is scheduled to come off the bereavement list and start the series finale on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 11:40 a.m. St. Louis time.
