It was a game that could have easily gone south, and it almost did. But the Cardinals pulled through and secured a series win against the Brewers. Sonny Gray drew the start. He wasn’t dominant by any means, as he allowed three runs. But he did give the Cardinals six innings and put them in position to win.
Because of the late home run by Jackson Chourio, he did not get the win. Ryan Helsley did. But the Cardinals at least pulled out a W in what ultimately proved to be an exciting game.
The bats really woke up, allowing the Cardinals to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Pedro Pages opened the scoring with a sac fly in the bottom of the second. Then the Cardinals added two runs in the third and fourth to make it 5-0. And after Helsley allowed the game-tying homer to Chourio, Nolan Arenado saved the day with a walk-off home run to give the Cardinals a 6-5 win. Let’s break this one down.
Doubles aplenty
The Cardinals hit six doubles today, three of which came in the third inning. It all started with Nolan Gorman’s double in the bottom of the second. He later moved to third on a ground out by Thomas Saggese and scored on Pages’ sac fly. In the third, it started with a leadoff double by Masyn Winn. Lars Nootbaar then came up and drove him in with a ground-rule double of his own. After Willson Contreras grounded out to move Nootbaar to third, Brendan Donovan doubled to bring Noot home, making it 3-0.
They were back at it in the fourth. Winn had another double and later scored on a single by Nootbaar. Nootbaar would score again on a single by Willson Contreras after Brice Turang made a throwing error. That made it 5-0.
It’s good to see the bats wake up a bit at home after a tough road trip. They came up with timely hits and delivered when they needed to. I’ve been saying it a bunch, but I really think the hitters are buying into what Brant Brown is trying to do. His approach has had a very positive effect on almost everybody, and it’s clear that unlike the last two hitting coaches they’ve had, the players really trust his approach.
Bullpen woes continue
Unfortunately, this game was not without a little bit of frustration. In the top of the fifth, the Brewers began to chip away with a few doubles of their own and scored two runs. They added another in the top of the sixth.
But the ninth is where things almost went awry. After Isaac Collins’ leadoff single, Helsley averted disaster when Turang hit a deep drive to the warning track that was fortunately caught. But the damage came one batter later when Chourio took Helsey deep to tie the game.
Sadly, the bullpen has been a major problem for this team, and that needs to change. Helsley has been good this year again, so I’m not terribly concerned about him. He’ll bounce back and get the job done more often than not.
Still, the Cardinals’ bullpen just makes games a little too dramatic. It’s been a rough week for the relief corps.
Arenado stays hot
One thing that has been a pleasant surprise is Nolan Arenado. Think about it, he probably thought he was going to be traded at various points last offseason. Rumors were all over the place. But I heard Scott Warmann and Ricky Horton talking about this on the postgame show. He didn’t let it bother him. He knew 2024 was a rough year and that he needed to adjust, and in the midst of trade rumors, he prepared like crazy and did everything in his power to make sure 2024 was a fluke.
Speaking of power, he’s hitting more home runs and hitting the ball in the air more frequently, but he’s also just getting the job done. It’s been great to see.
I guarantee he’s been frustrated by a lot of things lately. He had the rug pulled out from under him when the Cardinals entered their “reset.” Then he had to nix a trade to the Astros because he wasn’t sure what direction they were headed in. From there, a trade never materialized.
But he showed up to camp ready to play and ready to be a difference-maker for this team. He’s had a great attitude and he’s been a great leader for the younger players.
If he stays hot, then he’ll continue to boost his trade value, assuming that the Cardinals are sellers at the deadline. If they aren’t, then he’ll continue to be a force in this lineup.
The Cardinals are back at it again tomorrow as they try for a sweep. First pitch is at 1:15. It might be a sparse crowd with the Blues game happening at the same time, but that won’t matter too much if they can pull out another win.