Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter struck out three times in his first three at-bats Thursday in Cleveland. Then he made up for it with one swing in the eighth inning.
"I was able to lay off a couple tough sinkers by (Marc) Rzepczynski and get one up in the zone and put a good swing on it," Carpenter said after the game, per MLB.com.
Carpenter blasted a two-run homer just over the outstretched glove of Michael Bourn in right-center to turn a potential 1-0 loss into a 2-1 lead that stood up. He has six home runs and 23 RBI on the year.
His .612 slugging percentage ranks sixth in the majors.