St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller delivers a pitch to the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 23, 2013. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
On yesterday’s Missourinet Morning’s video, I thought Shelby Miller would benefit from the extra time off in between starts due to the All-Star break. He broke out of a three start slump to lead the Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Prior to last night, Miller had given up 10 earned runs in 12.2 innings over his last three starts. Tuesday night was different. Miller threw six shutout innings, allowing just six hits and a walk while striking out six.
Miller’s fastball was consistently hitting 94-95 and on one strikeout topped out at 96. He was hitting his corners, which caught Phillies’ hitters looking at strike three calls just on the black of the plate. Miller also threw his off-speed pitches for strikes when he needed.
AUDIO Miller and Matheny (:20)
Miller threw 85 pitches, 62 for strike and he retired the side down in order in three innings.
Allen Craig drove in a pair of runs for his team leading 78th and 79th RBIs. Craig and Yadier Molina hit back-to-back doubles off Philadelphia starter Jonathan Pettibone in the fourth. David Freese followed with a run-scoring single to give Miller a 3-0 lead. Craig added a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Miller’s outing, courtesy of MLB.com