Edman, Sosa 'fantastic,' key win with five hits

KANSAS CITY -- Positioned next to each other, Edmundo Sosa and Tommy Edman demonstrated the flair. Batting in conjunction with another, they showcased their acumen -- enough to capture the Cardinals’ fifth straight victory and sixth series win since the All-Star break.

The middle-infield duo combined for five hits, crossing the plate four times and driving in a pair of runs, in Saturday’s 9-4 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, also combining for many of the night’s putouts that were far flashier than how they went down in the box score. Several involved Jon Lester to either take a ball deflecting off his body or dive away from another one about to do the same. All, most importantly, were converted.

That Sosa got his chance on Saturday was a surprise in itself. He was a late entrance into the lineup because Paul DeJong was scratched with lower back tightness and is day to day. His three-hit night was the fourth of his season (originally deemed his first four-hit night until a scoring change morphed a base knock into an error), with just 25-30 minutes of a heads up that he was going to be called upon to hit ninth.

“Both those guys tonight were all over the field,” manager Mike Shildt said of Edman and Sosa. “… Those guys were fantastic back-to-back tonight.”

The duo, double-play partners from the Minors, provided enough cushion -- both offensively and defensively -- for Lester’s first win in a Cardinal uniform, now three shy of 200 to become only the third active player with as many (Justin Verlander, Zack Grienke). The lefty finished just one out shy of a quality start and didn’t strike out his first batter until the last out of the fifth, flashing the Lester the Cards longed to see since acquiring him: crafty, nimble and durable.

And it provided an even more promising sign: St. Louis’ rotation owns a 3.49 ERA since July 1 -- third in the NL behind the Dodgers and Brewers.

Even more promising: The Cardinals have played winner in 16 of their last 26 games since the All-Star break, including seven of their last eight. Since this current installment of winning began on Aug. 6, St. Louis has leapt from eight games back of the second NL Wild Card spot to just 4 1/2.

Only two teams stand between the Cardinals and the Padres, who sit in the second Wild Card spot. One is the Reds, who St. Louis plays six more times before the close of the season, and the other is one of the Braves/Phillies -- since they’re tied for the NL East lead, only one would be in play for the Wild Card if the season ended today.

“The vibe and clubhouse is good. We're playing good,” Lester said. “Hopefully we can keep this train moving, and hopefully we get a little bit lucky on the guys that are ahead of us. Maybe they won't play as well as we are right now.”

The vibes are immaculate across Missouri, with the Cardinals sending a winning feeling in the I-70 Series back across the state on Saturday.

And the vibes emanated outward from the middle of the infield.

Lester’s first out of the evening hit off his glove, hit right to Sosa creeping in towards the mound and then hit the back of Matt Carpenter’s glove at first base.

It continued. In the third and fourth innings, a ball found Edman’s glove that needed a little extra effort to find Sosa for the out. Each time, Lester had to hit the deck. Each time, an out was recorded.

“We're behind a lot of baseballs,” Shildt said. “[Bench coach Oliver Marmol] says that. I think it's a good description of it. Our positioning is really good, and it's very much a team collaborative deal.”

Lester, a ground-ball pitcher, couldn’t recall a night in his 443-game career with as much dipping and diving.

The hitting came in tow. The only benefit to DeJong’s sidelining was that it allowed Shildt to stack Sosa and Edman on top of each other, using the former as a table-setter for the big boppers atop the lineup.

How did they respond? Edman laced a go-ahead two-run single in the fifth for a lead the Cardinals would not relent. Then seven combined RBIs came from Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, including the latter’s second homer in as many nights.

“You’re looking for contributions everywhere,” Shildt said. “... You're looking to get good at-bats and pass it on. It worked with really good synergy.”