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Sparked Cardinals eye split with Giants

Oscar Taveras gave the St. Louis Cardinals something to be excited about in his Major League debut.

Starter Lance Lynn also delighted in his last trip to the mound and on Sunday afternoon he'll try to pitch the Cardinals to a split of their four-game series with the San Francisco Giants.

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With Matt Adams headed to the disabled list with a strained left calf and the Cardinals riding a three-game losing streak, the club opted to recall Taveras from the minor leagues on Saturday and give the highly-regarded prospect his first MLB appearance.

He didn't disappoint while hitting sixth and starting in right field, homering in his second at-bat. Taveras became the first Cardinals player to homer in his first MLB game since Steven Hill on Aug. 15, 2010.

"I'll say that was a huge boost for us," said St. Louis manager Mike Matheny about Taveras. "What a great day for him, one I'm sure he won't forget and neither will we."

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Jhonny Peralta drove in a run with a double in the seventh inning and Michael Wacha logged six scoreless innings of three-hit ball while striking out seven for the Cardinals.

Starting in place of the injured Matt Cain, Yusmeiro Petit was solid in the loss for the Giants. He yielded one run on two hits with five strikeouts over six innings as San Francisco saw its four-game winning streak snapped with only its second loss in 10 games.

"He did a great job and threw the ball very well," said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy about Petit. "It was a close ball game, we just couldn't do anything offensively."

Lynn also shut down an offense in his last start, logging a five-hit shutout of the New York Yankees on Tuesday. He worked around five hits and three walks in the 6-0 win, unleashing 126 pitches in his first career shutout and complete game.

"I was able to mix my pitches well," Lynn said. "It was definitely one to remember. I enjoyed it and to do it against the Yankees is exciting."

The right-hander has allowed only four runs in his last three starts and is 6-2 with a 3.13 earned run average on the season.

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Lynn, though, has lost both of his previous meetings with the Giants and the 27-year-old has yielded nine runs over 11 2/3 innings in that span.

Veteran Tim Hudson will look to continue his consistent success today in his first season with the Giants. The 38-year-old righty is 5-2 with a 1.92 ERA and has allowed more than two earned runs in just one of his 10 starts with San Francisco.

Hudson snapped a three-start winless stretch in a big way on Tuesday, beating the Chicago Cubs 4-0 after hurling seven scoreless innings of six-hit ball. He also fanned five without a walk.

"It's exciting to go out there and give us a good chance to win," Hudson said. "Hopefully I can just keep it up, stay healthy, stay strong and just keep on keeping on."

Hudson has not had a lot of success over his career against the Cardinals, going 3-4 against them in 12 meetings with a 5.78 ERA.

Hudson and the Giants may be without catcher Buster Posey for a fourth game in a row as he is battling tightness in his lower back. Though improving, Posey may sit again today to give him additional rest when coupled with Monday's off day.

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St. Louis and San Francisco are meeting for the first time this season and the Cardinals took four of six matchups in 2013.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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