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ST. LOUIS -- Numbers don't mean much to St. Louis Cardinals veteran starting pitcher John Lackey. Whether it is total victories in his career, throwing pitches that result in double plays or quality starts, the only important result is a win for his team.
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Lackey had a few rough spots when he only retired the Cincinnati Reds one inning without allowing a baserunner, but the Cardinals defense was steady to lead St. Louis to a 3-1 win Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. Lackey (13-9) fanned seven, scattered nine hits and did not walk a batter.
The win was No. 165 in his career and along the way the defense behind him executed three double plays, giving him a league-leading 28 induced double plays. He also earned his 25th quality start, a single season high. Another mark that Lackey somewhat ignores.
"It's kind of a random number I guess," said Lackey. "It just means I've been pitching a long time. I felt pretty good from the get go, just gave up that one home run in the first inning," said Lackey. "He (Jay Bruce) rocked me. I felt decent for sure. I kind of had to mix things up. Tony (Cruz) called a good game. We were on the same page and things worked out."
Lackey felt at ease with Cruz as his receiver with All-Star regular catcher Yadier Molina out with a slight ligament tear in his left thumb.
"Not a whole lot different at all, he's a good communicator," said Lackey. "They don't miss a beat with each other. Yadi is probably the best out there but Cruz is easy to work with."
Cards manager Mike Matheny said it's sometimes tough to get Lackey off the mound.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he doesn't like to come out of the game, said Matheny. "John did a nice job of limiting the damage. He did have a few infield hits, bloops hits and three double plays. That is a learned skill. One hundred and sixty five wins is pretty good."
The Cardinals improved to 95-56 and reduced the magic number to eight to clinch the National League Central title. The Reds fell to 63-87. With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh, the Cardinals scored the winning run after Cruz singled to center just out of the reach of shortstop Eugenio Suarez. Pinch hitter Greg Garcia fanned, but Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter executed a perfect hit-and-run to right field, moving Cruz to third.
Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field, scoring Cruz.
"He's (Pham) not just getting the big hit and he's getting the big sacrifice too," said Matheny. "He's a talented player and becoming more disciplined. He's getting better at the plate and we're trying to keep him in there. Tommy has been coming through."
The Cardinals scored in the eighth when shortstop Jhonny Peralta walked and rookie Stephen Piscotty singled into the left field corner. Peralta stopped at third and came home on second baseman Kolten Wong's sacrifice fly to right center field. With one out in the first and on a 1-1 count, Reds first baseman Jay Bruce gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead when he greeted Lackey with his 25th home run, a deep blast to right field. Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward hardly moved as the ball traveled 456 feet, the longest for a left handed hitter in the history of Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals tied the score at 1-1 in the third with one out when Carpenter doubled to right field. The ball just stayed inside the foul line and bounced into the stands.
Pham then hit the left-center-field gap with a line drive to the wall and Carpenter scored.
Reds starter Keyvius Sampson said he was pleased with this effort but getting behind in the count hurt. He allowed just four hits.
"I felt better tonight," said Sampson. "I had to make some adjustments with some off speed stuff. I felt I was in a better groove. All in all I felt better but I could have been more aggressive. I kind of fell behind on some guys. My tempo was better and I'm starting to trust myself and my stuff."
Reds manager Bryan Price said his starter is improving each time he takes the mound.
"I think he is starting to mix his pitches well," said Price. "We couldn't get the big hit for him tonight."
NOTES: Cardinals RHP John Lackey made his team-high 31st start of the season. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny celebrated his 45th birthday on Tuesday. ... The Cardinals are now 84-0 when leading after eight innings but 3-46 when trailing after eight innings. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto is only the third player in team history to have at least 30 doubles in seven seasons, joining Pete Rose and Vada Pinson. ... Votto and 2B Brandon Phillips have made 963 starts together on the right side of the infield.
