Cards living up to Matheny’s bold prediction

HOUSTON — Mike Matheny’s message that February day in Jupiter, Fla., took many paths, as it was his first opportunity to address the players that would eventually make up his 2016 squad. Expectations were a key focus in the gathering before the team’s first full-squad workout, and, at one point, the fifth-year manager zeroed in on what that meant for the offense.

Matheny looked around the room and boldly asserted that this group would be “scoring some serious runs.”

Some six months later, the Cardinals boast one of the league’s most prolific offenses, which was again on display in their fourth straight victory, an 8-2 win over the Astros on Wednesday.

After building a lead with a succession of singles, the Cardinals did what they’ve done best all season and put it away with a show of power. Two more home runs — a solo shot from Jeremy Hazelbaker and three-run blast by Brandon Moss — gave the Cardinals a franchise-record eighth straight multihomer game. Since the All-Star break, the Cardinals rank first in the Majors with 49 home runs.

“They expected more of themselves, and I expected more from our offense,” Matheny said of that preseason prediction. “I knew that there was more in the …

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