Gomber pitches playoff-hunting Cards to 5-0 win over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Austin Gomber heard longtime Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright say that his goal before pitching a complete game against Milwaukee last week was to throw no more than 12 pitches in any inning.

Sounded like a good idea to him.

With the same target in mind, the reliever-turned-starter proceeded to throw six innings of four-hit ball in a crucial spot start against Kansas City on Tuesday night. And with Dylan Carlson and the rest of Gomber's offense providing support, the Cardinals rolled to a 5-0 victory that gave them the slightest of cushions in the race for a playoff spot.

“Me not being built up as much as everybody, I was just trying to go as deep as I could,” said Gomber, who got the ball in place of injured right-hander Dakota Hudson. “That was my goal, 12 pitches or less. That was just kind of the goal. Get as many outs as I could as quickly as I could.”

Gomber (1-1), who dealt with biceps tendinitis throughout last season, wound up striking out three without a walk while blanking an opponent for the 11th time in 13 appearances. He also won for the first time since Sept. 18, 2018, at Atlanta.

The Cardinals, who trail the Chicago Cubs by 3 1/2 games in the NL Central, improved to 27-25 by evening their series with their cross-state rivals. They also built the slightest of cushion in the race for the No. 2 spot in the division after Milwaukee (28-28) eked out a win over Cincinnati (27-27) earlier in the evening.

“We're coming out here looking to win some ballgames,” said Carlson, who had two RBIs while finishing a homer shy of the cycle — he hit a ball to the warning track in his final at-bat. “To come through early and get some runs on the board felt good.”

Brad Miller, Tommy Edman and Kolten Wong also drove in runs for the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gomber-pitches-playoff-hunting-Cards-to-5-0-win-15589536.php