In the second inning, Carpenter came to the plate with the bases loaded. The result? Carpenter hit a grand slam to put the Cardinals up 5-0. But he wasn’t done. In the fifth inning, Carpenter hit a two-run double. He finished the contest 2-for-3 with six RBIs.

On the mound, Carpenter went five scoreless innings and gave up only three hits and one walk while striking out six batters. St. Louis ended up winning the ballgame by a final count of 13-0. Carpenter’s outing upped his record to 17-4 and lowered his ERA to 2.24.

Commented Carpenter: “That was one of the funner days I’ve ever had.”

This extra publicity might give Carpenter an edge in the NL Cy Young Award race. He currently leads the NL in ERA and his wins are second to teammate Adam Wainwright. If he wins it, it’d be the second Cy Young Award of Carpenter’s career.

Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve