Diamondbacks jump on Garcia early, beat Cardinals

Starter Zack Greinke #21 of the Arizona Diamondback throws a out a runner against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Busch Stadium on May 22, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri.

(May 22, 2016 - Source: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America)

The Arizona Diamondbacks score five early runs as they win at the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2.

Arizona set the tone right in the first inning. Leadoff hitter 2B Jean Segura walked and advanced to third base on a single from RF Michael Bourn. 1B Paul Goldschmidt followed and grounded into double play but Jean Segura crossed home plate for the first run.

Up next was C Wellington Castillo, who hit a ground rule double. LF Yasmany Tomas followed with a single and drove in Wellington Castillo for the 2-0 lead.

Yasmany Tomas came home after a single by 3B Brandon Drury and the Diamondbacks were 3-0 up after the first inning.

Arizona added a fourth run in the second inning. SS Nick Ahmed hit a leadoff double and reached third base on an infield single by Michael Bourn. Paul Goldschmidt hit another single and Nick Ahmed came home for the 4-0 lead.

Arizona’s fifth run came in the third inning. Brandon Drury hit a leadoff single and moved to third base on a single by CF Chris Owings. Owings, however, tried to reach second base and was thrown out.

The Cardinals made a pitching change and replaced SP Jaime Garcia with RP Matt Bowman. Garcia (3-4) surrendered 10 hits, 1 walk and 5 earned runs. His ERA and WHIP increased to 3.59 and 1.20, respectively.

SP Zack Greinke, batting eighth in the lineup, hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field and drove in Brandon Drury for the fifth score.

St. Louis got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning with a two-out home run from LF Brandon Moss. It was his eighth homer of the season.

The Diamondbacks scored another two runs in the sixth frame. Zack Greinke and Nick Ahmed hit back-to-back singles to open the inning. Zack Greinke was thrown out when Jean Segura hit into fielder’s choice but Nick Ahmed advanced to third base on a throwing error by 3B Matt Carpenter.

Michael Bourn’s single drove in Nick Ahmed and moved Jean Segura to third base. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a hit into fielder’s choice and Jean Segura scored to give the Dbacks a 7-1 lead.

In the ninth inning, Arizona brought in CL Brad Ziegler in a non-save situation. He recorded two outs after walking 1B Matt Adams, then gave up a double to CF Randal Grichuk, which drove Adams home for the final score of 7-2.

Zack Greinke (5-3) pitched 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run while striking out 7. He now has a 4.59 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (21-25) travel to the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-19) to play a three-game series from Tuesday to Thursday.

The St. Louis Cardinals (23-21) finish their current homestand with a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (29-13) from Monday through Wednesday.