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Heyward, Scruggs stay hot as Cardinals' offense explodes for win
ST. LOUIS -- When the Cardinals needed someone to pick up their offense, Jason Heyward and Xavier Scruggs stepped up to the challenge.
When the other capable bats in the lineup started producing on Saturday, Heyward and Scruggs just kept hitting. They provided some of the most significant at-bats in an 8-1 rout of the Cubs that extended St. Louis' winning streak to six games.
Heyward led off in a pair of four-run innings, lining a single to right in the fourth and drawing a walk in the fifth. He would finish the night 2 for 3 with two walks to raise his average to .410 over the past 10 games, and the difference has been noticeable.
"You're able to worry about less as far as what you need to do, how you need to feel up there, where you are in the box, what your hands are doing," Heyward said. "Timing is the biggest thing for me as far as when I'm ready to attack the baseball and that way you're able to read and react a lot better."
Three spots further down the lineup, Scruggs came up with runners on base three times and went 3 for 4 with a double and two singles. His line drive to center in the fourth drove in Yadier Molina to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead, and an even harder-hit ball went all the way to the wall for an RBI double to make it 6-1 in the fifth.
Scruggs scored both times to give him four runs since being called up from Triple A Memphis last Friday, and he's batting .615 (8 for 13) in three starts at first base. Manager Mike Matheny said he's seen Scruggs get hot at the minor league level, and he left while batting .478 with three home runs during a six-game hit streak.
"He's putting together great at-bats," Matheny said. "I think he's improving as a hitter, too. You're seeing less holes. You're seeing him being able to make adjustments like he did that last at-bat, and then he stays on one, drives it through the middle."
That line-drive single led off the seventh inning and didn't produce any runs, but it continued to prove Scruggs can do more than hold his own at the big-league level. Matheny said his emergence is significant, since utilityman Mark Reynolds had started in 26 of the 28 games since first baseman Matt Adams went to the disabled list.
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Reynolds has even been batting cleanup often with Matt Holliday injured, but Heyward showed he can fill the role as well, if necessary. The big lefty leads the Cardinals with four home runs and eight RBIs in the past nine games.
Those numbers could mean he's seeing fewer good pitches to hit, and Heyward drew two walks in a game Saturday for just the third time all season. He's just keeping things simple and watching the bad pitches while hitting the good ones, and Matheny noted even Heyward's lone out came on a hard groundball to short.
"He's getting into good counts and then he's getting balls that he can put the good part of the bat on and he's not missing them," Matheny said. "Keep riding it, but he's in a good place."
Scruggs still hasn't hit his first major league home run, but it's surely just a matter of time for the man who had at least 21 in the minors each of the last five years. He already had a team-high 11 at Triple A Memphis through 60 games this season and hit a ball to deep center in his first major league at-bat of 2015, back on May 15.
Matheny continues to show plenty of confidence in both Heyward and Scruggs, and lately they've rewarded him quite well.
When everyone else in the lineup adds at least one hit like they did on Saturday, it adds up to a big night for the Cardinals' offense.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
