Pedro Alvarez #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a grand slam against the St.
Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North
America)
His initial success suggested otherwise, but this is indeed Lance Lynn’s first full-season rodeo.
A pitcher who reached the major leagues last June as a spot starter stayed on as an eighth-inning presence in a bullpen seeking a ninth-inning solution.
Lynn endured time on the disabled list with a strained oblique and returned in time to make 10 postseason appearances. He entered this season with too much service time to be classified a rookie but too few major-league starts (two) to be considered an experienced hand, even if for two months he made his craft appear disarmingly simple.
The game — and the Pittsburgh Pirates — continued to get even Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Making his second straight daytime start, this one against a team he had controlled twice, Lynn suffered his first career loss within the National League Central in a 7-3 setback before a crowd announced at 37,162 at Busch Stadium.
Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez made the outcome all but academic with a first-inning, two-out grand slam — the first such bruise in Lynn’s young career.
A power talent who rolled through April undefeated and compiled four wins for a second consecutive month in May finished June with a 2-3 record and 5.67 ERA. A starting pitcher described by one teammate as sometimes lapsing into "an eighth-inning mentality" of hard, harder, hardest may need to make an adjustment.
"He’s got a good personality. You can tell he’s a grinder. He’s not going to let it bother him too much," said fellow starter Adam Wainwright. "He’s excited about taking the ball every fifth day. The guys who fall into extended ruts are usually those guys who can’t let a start go. My sense is Lance is always looking to the next one."
Lynn (10-4) remained stoic after surrendering six runs in five innings. Among his seven hits allowed, he counted numerous flares and jam shots.
"I’m just trying to get better. I’m not worried about my health or anything. I’ve just go to start getting people out again," he said.
After scoring seven runs with two outs Friday, the Pirates created the first-inning opportunity for Alvarez with consecutive singles by center fielder Andrew McCutchen and first baseman Garrett Jones before a walk of second baseman Neil Walker loaded the bases.
Alvarez worked the count full, putting Lynn in a predictable situation. Lynn did not surprise.
"He knew a fastball was coming and he won," Lynn said.
"I don’t care who you are, you’re going to hit a lull at some point," said starting pitcher Kyle Lohse. "That’s the way the game works. Look at my April (4-0, 1.33 ERA). That can’t continue. I don’t see him getting too high when things are going his way and I don’t see him too down now. He’s good. He knows it. But he’s also learning."
For most of this season Lynn has helped keep the pitching staff together, even robust. That he has reached a plateau after becoming the first NL pitcher to 10 wins is not cause for alarm.
"He’s going to continue to learn," said manager Mike Matheny. "I don’t think anybody thought he was going to keep rolling through the league. You’re going to have your bumps. It’s all about how you adjust to them."
The Cardinals managed two runs in seven innings against Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (1-2), who won for the first time since last Aug. 10. Center fielder Jon Jay and left fielder Matt Holliday contributed RBIs to bring the Cardinals within 4-2 in the fourth inning. Right fielder Carlo Beltran’s 400th career double got the Redbirds within 6-3 in the eighth.
The Pirates completed a 17-10 month by leading from their first pitch. They ended June with 146 runs and 39 home runs. Both figures led the National League. Since May 25 their 22-11 record is best in the league. Six games behind the Cardinals on May 2, the second-place Pirates now lead them by 2½ games. The Cardinals finished 13-14 in June with three-game losing streaks to open and close the month.
The third-place Cardinals have come from behind in only 12 of 40 wins in such fashion. A dominant offense took control early during April and their starting pitching often put them way down in May. Mounting bullpen woes conspired against them in June. The defending World Series champions are 10-28 (.263) when opponents score first, compared to 25-36 (.410) in such situations last season.
Alvarez’s blast took the wind out of a stifling afternoon that forced at least 50 fans to seek on-site attention for heat-related problems. (More than 100 sought help Friday night.) No Cardinals opponent has done better than Alvarez’s 15 RBIs, which included four RBI Friday as well.
"When you give up four runs on one swing it’s a tough day. I can’t put myself in that position. I did today. And they won," said Lynn, who defeated the Pirates twice before May 3 and entered 7-0 against NL Central opponents. "I just need to stop putting myself in the position to give up the big inning. That seems to be my problem the last couple starts: the one inning where I give up three or four runs."
Alvarez has multiple RBIs in five games against the Cardinals this season. He is hitting .345 against this weekend’s opponent and .209 against the rest of the game.
Lynn struck out 23 in his last two wins June 7-13. He has since surrendered 17 earned runs and 25 hits while striking out 12 against seven walks in 151/3 innings.
Lynn has never thrown more than 164 innings in a professional season. He reached 97 innings Saturday with one remaining start before the All-Star break. For his part, Lynn has insisted after his last two starts that he’s felt fine. However, Saturday’s inefficient five-inning start (109 pitches) following a laborious effort in Kansas City six days earlier suggest something has changed.
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