Coverage of today's Cards and Dodgers game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 8:35pm.

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Carpenter's two-out double in the bottom 
of  the  eighth inning  drove in the  deciding run as  the St. Louis Cardinals 
rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies. 

The Cardinals trailed  5-1 after four innings and 6-4 through six, but scored 
once  in the seventh prior to reaching Adam Ottavino (0-3) for two runs in the 
eighth to claim the rubber match of this three-game set. 

Daniel Descalso added a pinch-hit double that tied the game and scored the go- 
ahead run on Carpenter's grounder up the middle that caromed into center field 
after being deflected by Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. 

Matt  Holliday  went 3-for-4  with an RBI  to aid the  comeback and Matt Adams 
contributed a pair of hits, including a two-run homer. Carpenter also finished 
with two RBI. 

Corey  Dickerson had a two-run double for the Rockies and Drew Stubbs belted a 
solo homer in the loss, Colorado's eighth in nine games. 

"It's just a little tough period we're going through right now," Dickerson 
said. "It's not about just the bullpen, it's about us [hitters], too. We've 
just got to pick it up as a team and play some team ball and we'll pick up 
some wins." 

Ottavino  came  on in the  eighth to protect  a 6-5 lead  and was greeted by a 
single  from  Allen Craig, but retired  the next two batters before Descalso's 
liner to left dropped in fair territory and Mark Ellis slid just under the tag 
of catcher Wilin Rosario to score the tying run. 

After Carpenter sent St. Louis in front and the Rockies failed to score in the 
bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals tacked on two more runs in their final at- 
bat.  Yadier Molina and Craig each delivered sacrifice flies to bring in Adams 
and Jhonny Peralta, who had reached on a single and a walk, respectively. 

"It's encouraging for the guys [to know] that if they keep squaring them up, 
good things are going to happen," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. 
"Overall, just a real solid approach all the way around and we really took 
advantage of what they gave us." 

Carpenter's  double made a  winner out of Pat Neshek (2-0), who tossed a 1-2-3 
seventh.  Trevor  Rosenthal recorded the last  four outs to nail down his 23rd 
save. 

The game featured a matchup of pitchers both making their major league debuts, 
with the Cardinals promoting prospect Marco Gonzales from Double-A Springfield 
and  Colorado sending  out 28-year-old  career minor  leaguer Yohan  Flande in 
place of an injured Christian Bergman. 

Gonzalez,  a native of nearby Fort Collins and the Cardinals' first-round pick 
in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, had an impressive beginning to his intro. 
The 22-year-old allowed just a walk through the opening three innings, laced a 
double  in  his initial at-bat  and scored the  game's first run when Holliday 
drilled a single to left two batters later in the top of the third. 

The  young lefty, whose father, Frank, is a minor league pitching coach in the 
Rockies'  organization, was  shellacked in  the fourth,  however, as  Colorado 
struck for five runs to move in front. 

Stubbs jump-started the Rockies' offense by cranking Gonzalez's first pitch of 
the frame over the wall in left, and five of the next six hitters reached base 
as  well.  Dickerson's hard  two-run double  into the gap  gave Colorado a 3-1 
advantage,  with D.J. LeMahieu following with an RBI single and Flande getting 
into  the act with a grounder to third that plated Dickerson for the fifth run 
of the inning. 

Gonzalez  made  it through the fifth  unscathed, finishing with a line of five 
runs allowed on seven hits. 

"To be honest, it's one of the best times I've had as far as strength-wise and 
health-wise and things like that," said Gonzalez afterward. 

Flande  also had his  moments early on. The left-hander struck out the side in 
order  in the second  and permitted just one run until the Cardinals got their 
bats untracked in the fifth. 

Ellis led off the inning with a deep double and later came home on a Carpenter 
sac  fly to bring  St. Louis within 5-2. Holliday then doubled off the center- 
field  wall in  front  of Adams'  third  homer of  the  series, which  trimmed 
Colorado's lead to a run. 

The  Rockies extended  the  margin  in the  sixth,  though,  as Josh  Rutledge 
greeted  reliever Seth  Maness with  a single  and was  brought in  on Charlie 
Blackmon's two-out double. 

St.  Louis answered  in the seventh, with Carpenter's leadoff walk against Rex 
Brothers preceding Holliday's third hit of the day and a Peralta sacrifice fly 
that trimmed the deficit to 6-5. 

Flande  also  lasted five  innings, surrendering  four runs  on six hits while 
fanning four. 

                                   Game Notes 

Gonzales, called up when Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia landed on the disabled 
list  earlier this  week, gave St. Louis  a pitcher to advance to the majors a 
year  after being drafted in back-to-back seasons. Wacha accomplished the feat 
last  year ... Gonzales  is also the first Cardinal hurler to go straight from 
Double  A to  the majors since Donovan  Osborne in 1992 ... Flande is the 12th 
pitcher to start a game for Colorado this season, tops in the majors ... Adams 
now  had six homers and 16 RBI in 13 games since returning from the DL on June 
13 ... Holliday is 15-of-26 over his last six games at Coors Field.