PHOENIX – A bad outing by one of their top starters is one thing. Injuries to two relievers may prove even more costly for manager Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Brian Tallet and Bryan Augenstein, who allowed a combined five runs on five hits in 2 2-3 innings of relief, were each injured in a 13-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Both could be headed to the disabled list.
Tallet, a left-hander, sustained what the club called a significant injury to his right wrist, and Augenstein fell to the ground after delivering a pitch in the seventh inning and had to be helped off the field with a right groin strain.
Tallet was injured getting the final out of the fifth, diving to first base and colliding with Arizona's Stephen Drew. He plans to head back to St. Louis for more tests.
Chris Carpenter, who came in 4-0 in 10 starts against Arizona, allowed a three-run homer to Justin Upton and a two-run shot to Chris Young.
Juan Miranda added another three-run home run for Arizona, which scored seven of its runs with two outs.
Armando Galarraga (2-0) allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings to earn the win. He labored through most of the fifth, allowing two runs before escaping a bases-loaded jam.
"It was not a good day for pitching," Galarraga said. "I'm not really happy with my outing but I got the win."
Carpenter gave up at least one run in every inning he pitched — eight total in four innings — and dropped to 0-2 this season.
"I didn't make a ton of great pitches but even the ones that I did they hit," Carpenter said. "I was making good pitches but they were getting hits. Then you spin one into Upton and he hits it 500 feet. That's the way it works. I made some good pitches, I made some bad ones."
Upton's home run was measured at 478 feet, the sixth-longest at Chase Field and the longest in the majors so far this season.
Lance Berkman, David Freese and Colby Rasmus had solo home runs for the Cardinals, who cut the lead to 9-8 on back-to-back RBI singles by Berkman and Freese off reliever Kam Mickolio in the sixth. The Diamondbacks responded with four runs in the bottom half.
Albert Pujols went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .200.
Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson was ejected for the first time in his managerial career for arguing balls and strikes in the third inning with home plate umpire Bob Davidson, then went face-to-face with Davidson on the field and from the dugout after being tossed from the game.
"We disagreed, obviously. I'm not going to get into what was said or why. I think it's fairly obvious," Gibson said. "I just did what I had to do.
Gibson seemed to be protecting his catcher, Miguel Montero, who was upset about two swinging strike appeals going against him.
Notes: The Cardinals started the game with the same batting order (one through eight) on consecutive days for the first time this season. ... Gibson said INF Geoff Blum, who is on the 15-day DL with a right knee injury, has been running and could play in extended spring training games soon. ... The wife of OF Gerardo Parra gave birth to the couple's first child, son Gerardo, Monday night. Parra was back in the Arizona lineup Tuesday. ... Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals took batting practice before Tuesday's game and struggled to make solid contact with the ball. After saying he wouldn't try baseball if the NFL lockout continues to drag out, he said that resolving the labor issue is "up to the shirts and ties now to get it done," and that he would love to be back on the football field.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.