Carlson homers twice, Mikolas gets first win in two years

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dylan Carlson homered twice, including a grand slam, to help Miles Mikolas win for the first time in two years as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 on Friday night.

It was the Cardinals' sixth win in a row and extended their lead for the second wild card spot to 1 1/2 games over San Diego. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 and remain one game back of St. Louis.

Mikolas joked with reporters after the game about not having a win in a while.

“Has it been that long” Mikolas asked. “ I don't really ever put my head too far in the past. I'm going out trying to win every game. I had a couple of wins in the minor leagues (and) that was nice. It does feel good. First I haven't pitched in like two years, now I finally get a win after two years so who knows what I'll do next.”

Carlson was not just happy to be able to contribute but he recognized the importance of beating the Padres who are chasing them .

“I mean just coming through for the team is something I'm really proud of," Carlson said. “Yeah, it's huge. Obviously we're just focusing on our series here, doing all we can to win it. That's a really good team over there."

Mikolas (1-2) threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out three. He last won on Sept. 12, 2019. Mikolas missed all last season with an injured right shoulder, and he missed a considerable part of this season with right forearm tightness.

The Cardinals jumped all over Padres emergency starter Vince Velasquez in the first inning. Velasquez signed with San Diego Wednesday after the Padres placed Blake Snell on the Injured List with a left abductor groin strain.

“Not starting in about a week and a half I think I did a pretty good job of filling up the strike zone,”...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Carlson-homers-twice-Mikolas-gets-first-win-in-16468926.php