A frustrated Carpenter had asked the club if it could find something glaring that he could work on. “Their response was the exact opposite,” he said. “It was, ‘If you just keep doing what you’re doing, it will eventually even out.’ It felt good to hear that. (Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony) Rizzo and I were basically the same — the worst in baseball.”
So it came to pass Tuesday night that Carpenter, hitting his 100th career homer for the Cardinals in Mike Matheny’s 1,000th game as their manager, helped stop the music. The Cardinals caught and then passed the Chicago White Sox with two runs in the ninth for 3-2 victory in the first interleague game of the season at Busch Stadium.