Holliday's blast into Big Mac Land sparks Cardinals past Rockies

ST. LOUIS -- Even typically laid-back Matt Holliday was impressed by the home run he hit Friday night at Busch Stadium.

"Hit" actually is an understatement. Heck, "launched" or "blasted" might be an understatement, too. Suffice to say, you do not see balls hit that far and that hard very often.

Officially, it traveled 467 feet, the second-longest homer Holliday -- or anyone else -- has hit at newest Busch Stadium. Perhaps more notable than the distance was the speed with which the ball flew from Holliday's bat into Big Mac Land. Holliday had time to exit the batter's box before the ball landed, but not by much. The fastball from Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa came in at 93 mph and reached 110 off Holliday's bat, according to the FOX Sports Midwest telecast.

"I thought it was still going up when it hit Big Mac Land," manager Mike Matheny said. "He hit that as hard as any ball I've seen hit in a long, long time."

"I hit that about as good as I can hit a ball," Holliday admitted.

He hit it an ideal time, too. Adam Wainwright had just left a leadoff double stranded in the first inning and the Cardinals had put their first two runners on when Holliday stepped in. On the just-completed eight-game road trip, Holliday had failed to drive in a single run even though he had come up in a similar situation more than once.

Holliday also had been one of the club leaders to speak in a semi-official players meeting before the game, during which the message conveyed was, "We have a nine-game homestand, this is where we want to be. You play for the opportunity to win a World Series and the opportunity is in front of us."

His hit was far louder than his pregame words, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead and sending them on their way to a 5-1 victory that ended a three-game losing streak.

"The dugout erupted," Wainwright said. "That was a really hard-hit ball. ... More that we're winning, take a big lead right there. We needed to end our losing streak and go out there and win a game against a good team."

Two innings later, after the Rockies had cut the Cardinals' lead to 3-1, Holliday came through with another timely play. With two out, he stole second to put himself in position to score when Jhonny Peralta singled to right. "That was a big run right there," Matheny said.

But what will remain memorable is the home run. It missed by two feet of equaling the longest homer at new Busch, which Holliday hit two years ago.

Do you remember that one?

"Yeah, (Ryan) Dempster," Holliday said about the July 20, 2012, shot he hit off the then-Cubs right-hander.

Standing at his locker with his three boys at his side, you could see Holliday was happy to talk about this night, particularly his 17th homer of the season to go with 84 RBI.

"It's fun when you catch them square like that, especially with a runner (actually, two) on base," he said. "I knew it definitely was a home run. That's one of the better ones I've hit in my career."

When you've hit 268 of them and can say that, you should be impressed.

3 UP

-- Adam Wainwright. If you didn't believe his second-half funk was finished after his previous start, you should now. Wainwright worked eight innings and gave up one run on six hits while walking none and striking out eight -- the most since he whiffed that many Royals on June 4. He allowed a leadoff baserunner in each of the first three innings before he settled in and retired the final 16 batters he faced. Wainwright lowered his ERA to 2.56 and racked up his 18th win, tying him with Clayton Kershaw and Johnny Cueto for most in the majors.

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"I continue to make strides, build off my last start in Milwaukee," Wainwright said. "I knew I was close for a couple of starts. I'm going to stay right where I'm at, hope to continue this through the year. I feel very good."

-- Randal Grichuk. His line in the box score was solid -- 1 for 3 with a run and a walk -- but his all-around game is what continues to impress. He's about more than power. He gets to first base in a hurry and, beyond the nice catches he's made recently, he has shown a strong arm in right field. Don't be surprised if he makes an impact in the postseason. Matheny has no reluctance playing him against left-handers.

-- Home cooking. The victory was the Cardinals' 16th in 21 games at Busch Stadium since the end of July. The crowd count of 45,108 was even remarkable. It was the Cardinals' 44th sellout and the 74th time in 74 home games that they drew at least 40,000.

3 DOWN

-- Hot corner. No errors were charged to either Matt Carpenter or Nolan Arenado, but both third basemen had tough plays they didn't handle. Carpenter had a hard grounder go off his glove that was ruled a single and he made two high throws to first base, one that Xavier Scruggs was able to pull down in time for the out and one that he didn't. Arenado didn't come up with a grounder by Grichuk in the first and the Rockies paid when the next batter, Holliday, homered.

-- Weather. October is still nearly three weeks away but the 57-degree temperature at first pitch and 53 degrees by the final pitch to go with a steady mist made it feel like fall. There's nothing wrong with that although, as Holliday pointed out, it's about four or five weeks earlier than you'd expect. More October-type weather is expected through the weekend.

-- Yadier Molina's hitting. In his final at-bat, he finally delivered his first extra-base hit since returning from his right thumb injury. Molina finished 1 for 4 and is hitting .184 since coming off the disabled list Sept. 1, though he's at .280 for the season.

Matheny admitted before the game his catcher's timing is off. "He's fighting," Matheny said. "He wanted to jump right back in and we're glad he did. In the meanwhile, he's still trying to get that good feel back." Offensively, that is. Behind the plate, Molina remains at the top of the game. "Love having him (back there). We'll take him at any capacity," Matheny said. 

You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.