Jon Jay celebrates his homer in the dugout. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Cardinals rookie starting pitcher Joe Kelly has the second best ERA among club starters, but Tuesday night may have been his last start with the return of Jaime Garcia coming soon. If that’s the case, Kelly is certainly making the decision tough for Mike Matheny as he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs for his third win of the season, an 8-2 final, over Arizona.
Matt Holliday hit his 23rd homer of the year to spot Kelly a 2-0 lead, and Jon Jay hit a solo homer in the sixth, following a great leaping catch at the wall in the fifth. Jay went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and raised his average to .375 since moving to the lead-off spot. Jay is 12 for 32 with two doubles, a triples and two homers since moving to the top of the order.
Kelly lowered his ERA to 3.41, behind Kyle Lohse’s 2.72 ERA. Garcia is progressing in the minor. He threw eight strikeouts and three walks, throwing 93 pitches in five innings for Triple-A Memphis in his fourth rehab start Tuesday night.