D-backs shut out after Ray knocked from game by liner

ST. LOUIS -- It's been a week of firsts for St. Louis reliever Trevor Rosenthal.

On Tuesday, he earned his first two-inning win in a 3-2 victory over Colorado.

Against Arizona on Friday night, Rosenthal pitched the final two innings for his first two-inning major league save as St. Louis defeated the Diamondbacks 1-0.

"I think I'll probably start next week," Rosenthal said laughing.

Arizona starter Robbie Ray left the game in the second inning after getting hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of rookie Luke Voit.

Against Brett Cecil in the eighth, the Diamondbacks put runners on second and third with a single and double.

Enter Rosenthal.

"Obviously, it's the heart of the lineup and it's a tough spot," Rosenthal said. "Anything can happen, good or bad. I needed to keep focused and make good pitches and then it might work out for us."

It did.

He struck out A.J. Pollack. With the infield in, David Peralta grounded to second and Kolten Wong, who entered in the seventh as a pinch runner, cut down Ketel Marte at home. Arizona challenged and lost the replay.

"Once it goes to review, they examine the whole play, whether it's blocking the plate or whether there was a tag," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "It was close enough for us but obviously it didn't go our way."

Marte was going on contact on the play.

"It was a close play but he (Wong) threw the perfect throw," Marte said. "I think he got me at the last second."

He did believe catcher Yadier Molina blocked his path to the plate.

"Yeah, he blocked me but he can do it because the infielders, they played in and when they play in, he can block me and I was trying to do my best but he got me at the last second," Marte said.

Rosenthal ended the inning by striking out Paul Goldschmidt. That was his fifth strikeout in nine career at-bats versus Rosenthal.

Rosenthal had a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out for his fifth save.

"It was a lot fun," Rosenthal said.

St. Louis starter Michael Wacha was impressed.

"That was a big-time save right there," Wacha said. "He came in and didn't allow a single run. He really beared down and competed out there."

Manager Mike Matheny agreed.

"Trevor was amazing," Matheny said. "Michael set the tone. He was fantastic."

Wacha pitched six innings and Jedd Gyorko drove in the lone run with one of his three hits.

Wacha (8-4) allowed three hits. He has won five of his last six starts and improved to 7-1 in 12 starts at Busch Stadium this season.

Wacha finished strong. He pitched out of a jam in the sixth. He gave up a single and double with two outs before striking out Peralta to end his night.

When the ball hit Ray it caromed in the air into foul territory where third baseman Daniel Descalso caught it for the out.

Ray lay prone on the mound for several minutes before sitting up with his teammates surrounding him. He was driven off the field on a cart and was taken for an examination.

The only St. Louis run came in the sixth. Tommy Pham reached on an error by Descalso. After stealing second, Pham moved to third on a ground ball to second by rookie Paul DeJong. Gyorko followed and lined an RBI single up the middle.

The run snapped a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Cardinals.

Arizona had a chance to score against Seung Hwan Oh in the seventh. With two on and two outs, Oh got Chris Herrman to ground to first.

St. Louis loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but Andrew

Chafin got Pham to hit into an inning-ending double play.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Chris Owings hit a double in the fifth inning, the first of three in the game. Arizona has hit 31 doubles in its last 11 games. The Diamondbacks have 209 doubles this season to rank fourth in the majors.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Diamondbacks 3B Jake Lamb felt sore Friday and was a late lineup scratch. Lamb made a great catch on a foul fly by Randal Grichuk in the fourth inning. He fell backwards into the stands but stayed in the game. Lamb did pinch-hit in the ninth.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: Zach Greinke (12-4, 2.92) is 4-0 in his last five starts with a 2.25 ERA. Opponents are hitting .202 with 29 strikeouts in 32 innings in those starts.

Cardinals: Mike Leake (7-8, 3.20) is 4-1 in six starts at home against Arizona. He threw seven shutout innings in an 8-2 win in his last start against Colorado.