- Dingers, dingers, and some more dingers.
- A fanbase stocked with bowling balls.
- Late inning rallies, chaos, and other related madness.
#20: Four-run rally sparks rubber match win over Giants (June 5th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 18.1%
After a meh start by Carlos Martinez the bottom of the 6th inning came along with San Francisco staked to a 3-1 lead. The inning began with back-to-back doubles by Matt Carpenter and Aledmys Diaz to cut the Giants' lead to 3-2. A walk by Matt Holliday was followed by a Stephen Piscotty hit-by-pitch and a Matt Adams single that deflected off the glove of first baseman Brandon Belt to tie the game at three apiece. An error gave the Cardinals the lead and they never looked back, winning 6-3.
#19: Cardinals score five unanswered to complete sweep of Padres (April 24th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 17.0%
I couldn't find a VEB recap so here's the MLB.com recap
Back-to-back homers by Jedd Gyorko and Diaz tied the game at five in the 6th and the game remained tied going into the 8th. A triple by Carpenter gave St. Louis the lead and they tacked on two more runs on a Randal Grichuk double to extend the lead to 8-5, the final score.
#18: Carpenter, Piscotty pick up Martinez in 4-3 win (September 9th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 16.7%
The Cardinals quickly fell behnd Milwaukee 3-0, but with two outs in the bottom of the 3rd a rally began. Carlos Martinez singled up the middle and on a 3-1 pitch Carpenter homered to slice the deficit down to one. Kolten Wong worked an eight-pitch walk and the next at-bat resulted in a Piscotty 2-run homer. Martinez, Siegrist, and Oh shut down the Brewers as the Cardinals won 4-3.
#17: Grichuk's walk-off homer completes comeback against the Cubs (May 23rd)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 15.8%
John Lackey was cruising, leading his former team 3-1 as the 7th inning started. With two outs and Molina on first, pinch-hitter Matt Adams launched a 2-run homer to tie the game. After Trevor Rosenthal escaped a 9th inning jam unscathed, Grichuk belted a walk-off homer to center as the Cardinals won 4-3.
#16: Cardinals stun Cubs with six-run 8th (August 13th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 15.7%
Kyle Hendricks was mowing down the St. Louis lineup when Brandon Moss homered in the 6th and his BFF Jedd Gyorko homered in the 7th to tie the game at two all. In the 8th, Yadier Molina struck out but a wild pitch plated Piscotty and gave the Cards their first lead of the day. A pair of walks scored another run and with two outs, the birthday boy Randal Grichuk lined a grand slam into the basket and the Cardinals took a decisive 8-2 lead. Final score: Cardinals 8, Cubs 4.
Tied for #15: Cards turn the tables with five homers, including a Waino dinger (May 2nd)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 15.0%
Adam Wainwright's rough start continued when he surrendered three runs early against the Phillies. With the LOBsters piling up, Waino stepped to the plate with two on and two out in the bottom of the 4th. He crushed a game-tying homer and four dingers later the Cardinals won 10-3.
Tied for #15: Cardinals score seven in final two frames to finish sweep (April 10th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 15.0%
The Cardinals trailed the lowly Braves 6-5 going into the 8th inning. A pair of groundouts were followed by a pinch-hit single by Matt Holliday and a Matt Carpenter hit-by-pitch. My main man Jeremy Hazelbaker tied the game with a base hit and Piscotty gave St. Louis the lead with a single the other way. The Cards erupted for five runs in the 9th, highlighted by a Carpenter 3-run homer which ballooned the Cardinals lead to 12-6, a final of 12-7.
#13: Trailing in the 9th, Cardinals rally for walk-off win (May 4th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 10.0%
I couldn't find a VEB recap so here's the MLB.com recap
Entering the bottom of the 9th, the Cardinals had carved into the Phillies' 4-0 lead but still trailed by one. With Wong on first it appeared Matt Adams might have won the game with a walk-off homer, but the play was ruled a double. After Diaz was intentionally walked, Piscotty tied the game with an infield hit to score Wong. The next batter, Matt Holliday, grounded a 1-1 pitch into left field to cap the comeback and win the game.
#12: Waino hits go-ahead double–in the 12th inning! (June 10th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 9.9%
Down 2-0 going into the 8th inning, Eric Fryer and Greg Garcia opened the frame with a single and walk. Matt Carpenter lined a first pitch fastball over the right field wall to give St. Louis the lead. A blown save by Trevor Rosenthal sent the game to extras and eventually the 12th. After back-to-back strikeouts to begin the frame, Matt Carpenter walked and left Clint Hurdle with a choice: does Pittsburgh pitch to Diaz or put two on for pinch-hitter Adam Wainwright? Hurdle chose the latter and Waino doubled into the left-center gap to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. The Cardinals exploded for four more runs as the Cards won 9-3.
#11: Cardinals set MLB record with three pinch-hit homers (April 8th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 9.3%
Trailing 4-3 as the 7th inning, a solo homer off the bat of pinch-hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker tied the game. Also coming off the bench, Aledmys Diaz homered to give St. Louis a 5-4 lead. Pinch-hitter Greg Garcia took a 2-1 changeup into right field and over the fence to break the MLB record for most pinch-hit homers in a single game. Stephen Piscotty would add another longball as the Cardinals won their first game of the year 7-4.
#10: Molina and Wong break through against Jeurys Familia (July 27th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 7.6%
A nine-pitch battle between Yoenis Cespedes and Adam Wainwright ended with a go-ahead, three-run homer as the Mets took a 4-3 lead into the 9th. With Jeurys Familia on the mound, working a streak of 52 consecutive saves, most fans chalked this game up as a Cardinals loss. That all changed when Yadier Molina laced a double into center field and pinch-runner Randal Grichuk scored the tying run–the streak was over. Two batters later, Kolten Wong shot a double the opposite way to give St. Louis the lead. Seung Hwan Oh closed out the game as the Cardinals escaped New York with a series win.
#9: Cardinals (maybe) save their season with 9th inning comeback (September 17th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 7.3%
I couldn't find a VEB Recap so here's the MLB.com recap
The Cardinals offense seemed dead with just one hit from the 4th through 8th innings. With one away in the 9th, Gyorko singled and pinch-runner Tommy Pham swiped second with Molina at the plate. Molina walked and Grichuk's bouncing grounder found its way up the middle and through as Pham crossed the plate to tie the game at two apiece. The next batter, Kolten Wong, drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrafice fly and the Cardinals held on to win what was essentially a must-win game over the Giants.
Tied for #8: Four homers on VEB Day erase 4-0 deficit (June 4th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 7.1%
Five rough innings out of Michael Wacha left the Cardinals down 4-0 with the lineup providing little resistance against Jeff Samardzija. That all changed with a Brandon Moss bomb that got St. Louis on the board. With two on and two out, after working a 3-0 count, Diaz swung away and 426 feet later the game was knotted up at four. A 1-2-3 sixth by Tyler Lyons sent the game to the bottom of the 6th still tied. Piscotty and Adams went-back-to-back, and in a matter of minutes, a 4-0 hole had suddenly turned into a 6-4 lead. The Cards would add an insurance run in the 8th, winning 7-4.
Tied for #8: Grichuk homer, Yadi's chaotic bunt lead comeback (August 29th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 7.1%
A six inning, thirteen strikeout outing by Carlos Martinez helped the Cardinals to a 3-1 lead before the wheels came off in the bottom of the 7th. A ten batter, four run rally by the Brewers gave Milwaukee a 5-3 lead entering the 8th. Randal Grichuk tied the game with a 2-run homer to right-center field and Miguel Socolovich struck out the side to send the game to the 9th deadlocked. After St. Louis put runners on first and second with no outs, Yadier Molina came to the plate looking to bunt both runners over. Molina dropped a sacrafice down but pitcher Tyler Thornburg threw to third base, forcing Greg Garcia off the basepaths. The throw across to double up Molina bounced wide and Stephen Piscotty went first-to-home, scoring the go-ahead run. The Cardinals won the series opener 6-5 as they would take two of three at Miller Park.
#6: Gyorko saves the day, Grichuk gives Cards the lead in 11-inning win (August 19th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 5.6%
The Cardinals again found themselves down to their final three outs in the opener of a weekend series in Philadelphia. Jedd Gyorko strapped on his Superman cape and, after seven pitches, launched a game-tying homer over the left field fence. 11th inning doubles by Jhonny Peralta and Randal Grichuk gave St. Louis the lead and Alex Reyes dodged trouble to lock down his first career save.
#5: Piscotty homers as Cardinals force split in Wrigley (August 14th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 4.4%
On the verge of losing three of four in Chicago, the Cardinals were desperate for whatever runs they could find. St. Louis began chipping away with a pair of singles, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Stephen Piscotty. When Piscotty's at-bat was over, the Cards had taken a 4-3 lead on a homer to left field. The Cardinals padded their lead with a Moss homer and an RBI double off the bat of Grichuk to ensure 50¢ drinks and a huge win.
#4: Down to final out, Gyorko homers and Adams blasts walk-off homer in 16th (July 22nd)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 4.2%
A Justin Turner homer to dead center gave the Dodgers a one run lead for Kenley Jansen to preserve. Jansen recorded the first two outs on just eight pitches and in stepped Jedd Gyorko. First pitch: gone. Gyorko homers and everything goes crazy. The game spanned over five hours and sixteen heart attack inducing innings, culminating in a Matt Adams walk-off bomb. He unleashes the most epic bat-flip in recent Cardinals history and St. Louis wins 4-3.
#3: With two outs in the 9th, Cardinals homer thrice (September 6th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 3.2%
It was hard to believe the Cardinals ever held a 5-0 lead–it evaporated into a 6-5 deficit. Down to their final strike with Tony Watson on the mound, Matt Carpenter did Matt Carpenter things and the game was tied. A Molina double was followed by a go-ahead Grichuk dinger and a Peralta homer to make it 9-6. The Cardinals would win 9-7 and win the series in Pittsburgh.
#2: Piscotty ties game, Diaz wins it (July 21st)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 2.9%
I couldn't find a VEB Recap so here's the MLB.com recap
When Adam Wainwright exited, the Cardinals trailed by only one run. Two relievers later, the Padres lead had grown to 5-1. Looking for any signs of life, Jeremy Hazelbaker doubled to begin the bottom of the 8th. Jedd Gyorko singled up the middle and the deficit was down three. Two batters later Kolten Wong doubled to bring the tying run to the plate: Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter back in the 6th, lifted a 2-1 fastball to deep center. The ball kept carrying until it snuck over the wall to tie the game at five. A 1-2-3 frame by Jonathan Broxton sent the game to the bottom of the 9th, which began with a Tommy Pham double. Greg Garcia was intentionally walked and Hazelbaker laid down a bunt to put runners on second and third with only one out. San Diego gave the red hot Gyorko a free pass to load the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, Aledmys Diaz lined a 3-2 pitch into left field for a base hit. Pham scored and Cards finished a four game sweep of the Padres. By the way, shoutout to those guys behind home plate. #SquadGoals
#1: The Seven Man Rally (August 8th)
Lowest Win Expectancy: 0.4%
Play this situation out 250 times and only once will the Cardinals win–August 8th happened to be the one. The Cardinals were down to their final out, trailing 4-0 with a man on first. Tommy Pham walked on four pitches and Kolten Wong was hit to load the bases. Matt Carpenter lined a first pitch fastball into right to get St. Louis on the board with a 2-run single. The next batter, Stephen Piscotty, was also swinging first pitch and he singled to cut the deficit to one. Matt Holliday walked on four pitches to load the bases and put the tying run 90 feet from home. After falling behind 1-2, Brandon Moss worked a seven-pitch walk to tie the game and bring Yadi up to bat. On 1-0, Molina was hit and just like that, the game was over. Facing their final out, the Cardinals had worked seven straight baserunners to win 5-4.
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Go Cards!
