Events

1st Inning

Patrick Corbin had his slider working early. He used it, after Carpenter bounced a lead off double off the top of the 1B bag, to get Pham to ground out to SS, and then make Martinez & Ozuna look foolish as they struck out swinging. They were a thoroughly ugly pair of K’s. Corbin required 21 pitches to navigate the scoreless 1st.

Miles Mikolas did not have his command tonight. Jon Jay greeted him with a sharp ground ball that slipped between Carpenter & Munoz for a lead off single, and Goldschmidt followed by working a full count and drawing a walk. Mikolas battled back to get Lamb to pop a 3-1 cutter out to SS, and made Peralta look foolish as he swung through a very high fastball for a strikeout. Descalso worked a walk to load the bases, but Mikolas was able to get Marte to flare out to SS with his 28th pitch of the inning.

2nd Inning

Corbin kept on rolling through the latter half of the Cardinals’ lineup in the 2nd. He was gifted a 1st-pitch ground out to 2B by Molina before Gyorko worked him for a walk. But he was able to strike Bader out swinging with a slider down the middle, and got Munoz to ground out sharply to 3B, aided by a diving Jake Lamb. He was at 38 pitches.

Mikolas recovered from his long 1st inning with a much better 2nd. He got Dyson to ground out to 1B on 2 pitches, allowed a single to Mathis on another 2 pitches, got Corbin to pop out on a sac bunt attempt on the 1st pitch of the PA, and then struck Jon Jay out with a 5th-pitch curveball. He matched his counterpart at 38 pitches through 2.

3rd Inning

The Cardinals looked to have something cooking in the 3rd. Mikolas led off with a clean single to RF, which had me momentarily questioning how good Corbin actually is, and Carpenter followed with a walk. But Pham flew out to CF, which moved Mikolas to 3B, and Jose grounded out on a comebacker, which moved Carpenter up to 2B. Ozuna stepped in with those 2 runners in scoring position, worked a full count, but ultimately lined out to Dyson in RCF. Corbin was up to 60 pitches.

Mikolas had to work in the 3rd. Though he started the inning with a quick strikeout of Goldschmidt and was aided by a spinning Yairo Munoz on a sharp ground out off the bat of Lamb, Peralta slapped a single to LF and Descalso pulled a single to RF to make Mikolas sweat a little. Ketel Marte fouled off a bevy of breaking balls until he got the fastball he wanted, which he sent on a line to deep CF, but which Pham tracked down a step short of the wall. Mikolas was at 53 pitches.

4th Inning

The Cardinals stranded another runner in scoring position in the 4th. Yadi led off with another early-count out, this time popping the second pitch he saw out to CF. Gyorko followed with a sharp ground out to 3B, before Harrison Bader lined a 2-out double down the LF line. But Munoz stranded him there, grounding out weakly to SS. Corbin was up to 71 pitches.

The Diamondbacks broke through in the 4th. Mikolas had another fit of wildness, walking Dyson, who had a .281 OBP coming into tonight. Mathis then flew out to RF, and Corbin succeeded in bunting Dyson to 2B. With 2 outs, Jon Jay laced a single to LF. Dyson stumbled coming around 3B and was resigned to stay at 3B, but Carpenter caught Ozuna’s throw and tried to nail Jay advancing to 2B, but airmailed the throw into RF. Dyson scored and Jay advanced to 3B, and then scored on Lamb’s single to CF. Peralta popped out to Carpenter in foul territory to end the rally. Mikolas was up to 74 pitches. 2-0 Diamondbacks.

5th Inning

The Cardinals quickly scratched a run back. After Mikolas struck out swinging, Carpenter began his atonement for his error with a double that bounced past Jay and went to the wall. Tommy Pham followed with an RBI single to CF, and advanced to 2B on the throw & poor cutoff. But Martinez grounded out to SS, and Ozuna continued his horrid evening with another swinging strike out. Corbin was at 87 pitches. 2-1 Diamondbacks.

Mikolas bounced back strongly, and set the bottom of the Diamondbacks’s lineup down in order. He got Descalso to fly out to CF and Marte to line out to LF, before Dyson dropped a bunt right back to him for the final out. Mikolas was up to 81 pitches.

6th Inning

Corbin finished on a high note. Though Yadi laced a hot shot off Descalso’s glove and into short CF to start the inning, Gyorko quickly erased him by tapping into a 1-4-3 double play, and Bader waved through another breaking ball for his second strike out of the game. Corbin was at 97 pitches, and his evening was complete.

Mikolas also finished on a high note. He got Mathis to ground out to 3B, and induced a weak pop out to 1B from pinch-hitter Chris Owings. Jon Jay stroked a single to CF, but Mikolas got a fastball just inside enough to Goldschmidt that the slugging first baseman was unable to get good wood on it, and flied out to LF. Mikolas was up to 99 pitches, and his night was through.

7th Inning

Yoshihisa Hirano relieved Corbin, and the Diamondbacks really wished he hadn’t. Yairo Munoz greeted him warmly by sending his meatball of a fastball just out of Dyson’s reach and over the wall in RCF for a game-tying HR. Pinch-hitter Tyler O’Neill then reached safely when Ketel Marte booted his grounder up the middle. Then, after Carpenter tapped out to the catcher and moved O’Neill to 2B, Tommy Pham capitalized again and lined another RBI single to CF, giving the Cardinals the lead. Then, after Martinez flew out to the track in the RF corner, Marcell Ozuna singled to LF to chase Hirano.

Cardinals sleeper cell Fernando Salas entered in relief and immediately served up a 1st-pitch, 3-run HR to Yadier Molina. Gyorko flew out to CF to end the rally. 6-2 Cardinals.

Greg Holland relieved Mikolas, but had pretty much nothing. He walked Lamb on 5 erratic pitches, and then fell behind Peralta 2-0 to bring Molina out to the mound. He battled back to 3-2 but ultimately surrendered a single to RF. Matheny, as well as the rest of us, had seen enough.

Jordan Hicks entered to try to put out the fire. He quickly got the grounder he wanted, but Carpenter’s throw to 2B was off the mark, allowing Lamb to score and Peralta to advance to 3B. Hicks gave his defense a second chance, and got Marte to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, which allowed another run to score. Then, after he hit AJ Pollock on the left forearm, Hicks struck Mathis out looking at a slider off the plate. 6-4 Cardinals.

8th Inning

The Cardinals got those runs right back. Fernando Salas, who had acquitted himself so well the inning before, returned to start the inning. He surrendered a single to CF to Bader, and then hit Munoz in the ribs with a slider after he let Bader steal 2B. Jorge De La Rosa was brought on in relief. After Wong moved the runners up with a sac bunt, Carpenter pulled an RBI single to RF, and Tommy Pham followed with an RBI double to RF. Jordan Hicks was left in to bat for himself, a PA that ended predictably, and Joey Krehbiel got Ozuna to fly out to CF to end the long inning. 8-4 Cardinals.

Hicks returned for another inning, and accepted the Diamondbacks’ white flag. He struck out John Ryan Murphy swinging with a slider, got Jay to line out sharply to 3B, and struck out Goldschmidt with a low, 101 mph fastball. He threw 29 pitches tonight.

9th Inning

Krehbiel returned to keep the Cardinals off the board in the 9th. Though he gave up a lead off walk to Molina, he got Gyorko to fly out down the LF line, got Bader to fly out to LF, and got Munoz to ground out to 3B.

Bud Norris closed this one out, but gave everyone a scare in the process. He expediently struck Lamb & Peralta out, but showed signs of injury during a walk to Daniel Descalso. With Brebbia rapidly warming in the bullpen, Norris was able to get Marte to bounce out to 2B. Cardinals win 8-4.

Finals Lines

Miles Mikolas: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 K, 4 BB, 51 GSc, 99 pitches

Patrick Corbin: 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 HR, 6 K, 2 BB, 63 GSc, 97 pitches

Notes

• Mikolas’ single in the 3rd was his 2nd hit of the season.
• Jose Martinez looked slow all game, and was removed in the 7th inning.
• Big kudos to Matheny for pulling Holland as quickly as he did. I was shocked.
• Jordan Hicks was touching 104 tonight.
• Bud Norris appeared to be having an issue with a “zinger” in his finger, but Matheny said he felt confident he was just fine after his next pitch.
• Matt Carpenter hurt his ankle advancing from 2B to 3B in the 8th.
• O’Neill felt a twinge coming around to score in the 7th.

The Cardinals move on to San Francisco tomorrow, sending Luke Weaver to face Johnny Cueto to begin the 4-game set. Game starts at 8:40 CST, and can be viewed on FSMW.