Jon Jay's ways have Cardinals chirping

ST. LOUIS - Jon Jay of the St. Louis Cardinals is eyeing big-league prosperity after minor-league success at Triple-A Memphis earlier this season.
The rookie's play earlier this week certainly drew the attention of St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. Jonathan Henry Jay has a way about him. "He had a heck of a game," La Russa said Tuesday after Jay went 3-for-5 and clouted his first big-league home run in a 9-8 loss to Cincinnati. "He can hit and he has speed."
However, Jay hit into a ninth-inning double play and that quieted the Cards in the middle game of the series. La Russa decided to have Jay hit away in what could have been a bunting situation. The Reds clung to a one-run lead at the time.
"I don't even think it's a tough call," La Russa said, disdaining a bunt. "Playing for a tie would be a really dumb idea. If you have a chance to win it, then you try it. And I thought we had a great chance with Jay because he's hard to double up."
Jay, hitting .302 likely won't start tonight when the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He's a left-handed hitter and Milwaukee is going with left-hander Randy Wolf, owner of a 4-4 record.
The Cardinals will counter with 7-3 Adam Wainwright, then send rookie Adam Ottavino to the mound at 3 p.m. Saturday in a nationally televised game against the Brewers' 4-3 Chris Narveson. The Milwaukee left-handed was once regarded as Cards' prime prospect.
The series finale Sunday night pits 5-2 Jaime Garcia, owner of a microscopic 1.32 ERA, against Milwaukee's 1-5 Dave Bush. ESPN will be in the house for the first pitch at 7 p.m.
While the Brewers are trying to climb out of the lower half of the NL Central, the Cardinals started the weekend tied with Cincinnati for first place. They won two of three games from the Reds here this week and improved to 31-23. Cincy, which has the same record, opens a three-game series tonight in Washington.
"They're a good team but I feel like we're better," Cincinnati infielder Brandon Phillips said of the Cardinals.
Bench play has bolstered the Redbirds and Jay, a budding Bobby Tolan-type, has supplied five hits in his last 11 at-bats. He has started five games and hit safely in each one.
He savored stirring a hit parade in Memphis. Jay hit safely in 16 games, sported a .348 batting average and was the Cardinals' minor league player of the month for April. Jay, 25 and 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, is a Miami native and played collegiate ball for the Hurricanes. The Cardinals drafted him in the second round four years ago.



(thetelegraph.com)