Cards Belt Six Homers in 15-4 Win over Crew

The Cardinals opened a three-game series with the Brewers on Friday, with Adam Wainwright starting for the Cards against Freddy Peralta. The Cardinals’ bats were dangerous throughout the game, as every Cardinals starter recorded at least one hit with the exception of Paul Goldschmidt, who walked and scored twice. They put up fifteen runs thanks in major part to six home runs, two of which came off the bat of Nolan Arenado. Wainwright was great once again, throwing six and a third innings while yielding just one earned run that scored in a bases-loaded situation after he was pulled. The Brewers managed to notch four total runs against the Cards’ bullpen, but it mattered little as the Redbirds cruised to a 15-4 victory.

1st Inning

Tommy Edman skied out to center field to begin the game. Paul Goldschmidt followed and drew a walk. Tyler O’Neill struck out swinging at a fastball on the outside corner. Nolan Arenado got a fat fastball up in the zone and hammered it into left for a two-run homer to put the Cards up 2-0. Dylan Carlson followed the homer with a strikeout chasing an elevated fastball to close the top of the first.

Jace Peterson led off for the Brewers and grounded out to short. Willy Adames chased a cutter off the outside corner and struck out. Christian Yelich then chopped a cutter to first to put the Crew down in order.

2nd Inning

Yadier Molina opened the second for the Redbirds and got grazed by a 1-2 slider that didn’t break. Edmundo Sosa followed with a six-pitch walk. Harrison Bader hit a fastball back up the middle for a single, loading the bases. Wainwright followed and muscled a fastball in on the hands to left, scoring Yadi to make it 3-0 while the bases remained loaded with no outs. Edman grounded into a fielder’s choice at shortstop as Adames threw to second, but Edman beat the subsequent throw to first as Sosa scored to make it 4-0.

Edman then stole second during Goldschmidt’s at-bat. Goldschmidt, with runners on second and third and one out, struck out tipping a hanging slider into the glove of Omar Narvaez. O’Neill then struck out swinging through a four-seamer to end the top of the frame.

Eduardo Escobar singled to lead off the bottom of the second but was erased when Narvaez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Luis Urias then struck out swinging at an outside sinker as Wainright faced the minimum through two.

3rd Inning

Justin Topa replaced Peralta on the mound in the top of the third and was welcomed with a leadoff home run from Arenado, which extended the Cardinals’ lead to 5-0.

Carlson followed and laced a sinker to left for a single. Yadi skied another sinker to center for a groundout. Sosa flew an 0-1 pitch to no-man’s land in short right, singling to put two on. Bader got a slider low and inside and cranked it over the wall in left-center, blowing the game wide open at 8-0.

Wainwright chopped out to third for the second out. Topa then threw a few pitches to Edman before being lifted due to an apparent injury. Aaron Ashby took the mound in relief of Topa and retired Edman on a groundout to second to send the game to the bottom of the inning.

Rowdy Tellez led off in the bottom of the frame and popped out to Goldschmidt. Lorenzo Cain drew a six-pitch walk after Wainwright got squeezed a bit by the home plate ump. Ashby moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Peterson then grounded out to second after a nice diving play by Edman to end the third.

4th Inning

Ashby struck out the side in the fourth, with Goldschmidt going down swinging at a low sinker, O’Neill swinging over a slider in the zone, and Arenado getting rung up on a check swing at a slider that was well under the zone.

Adames flew a cutter to center for the first out. Yelich was called out on a pitch that was well inside and off the plate. Escobar then grounded out to first to close a quick frame.

5th Inning

Jackie Bradley, Jr. replaced Yelich at the start of the fifth as Yelich was ejected after arguing the strike three call against him in the fourth. Carlson went down chasing a hard sinker low and away. Yadi grounded a first-pitch changeup to short for the second out. Sosa grounded out to first for a quiet inning from the Cards’ offense.

Narvaez chopped a fastball to short for the first out. Urias grounded a curveball through the left side for a base hit. Tellez chopped into a fielder’s choice at second and Cain struck out swinging at a cutter off the plate.

6th Inning

Bader led off the sixth for the Cards and grounded out to Adames. Wainwright then flew out to left and Edman flew out to right, putting the Cards down in order.

Ashby opened the bottom of the frame, drawing a leadoff walk. Peterson followed and grounded into a fielder’s choice. Adames then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to retire the Crew.

7th Inning

Goldschmidt walked to lead off the seventh. O’Neill got a 0-2 fastball at the letters and crushed it to center field for another Cardinals homer, stretching the lead to 10-0. Arenado got under a slider and skied it to deep center for out number one. Carlson followed with a groundout to third. Yadi closed the top of the frame with a flyout to right.

Bradley, Jr. chopped a curveball to short where Sosa threw across his body to get the close out. Escobar drew a five-pitch walk. Narvaez and Urias both singled on really tough pitches from Wainwright to load the bases, the second of which was a screaming line drive that hit off the heel of Sosa’s glove. The hits ended Wainwright’s outing as T.J. McFarland came in to relieve him. Tellez grounded a sinker to Edman, who threw wide of second on a double play opportunity. Sosa managed to knock the throw down, but a run scored to close the deficit to 10-1 as the bases remained loaded. Cain chopped a sinker to Sosa at short, who threw to third for the force out. Another run scored on the play to bring the score to 10-2. Pinch hitter Pablo Reyes singled on a swinging bunt down the third baseline to load the bases again, but Peterson grounded out to short to strand everyone on base.

8th Inning

Daniel Norris took the mound for Milwaukee as Pablo Reyes remained in left field on a double switch. Sosa grounded out to short to open the inning. Bader skied a fastball to left for the second out. Jose Rondon pinch hit for McFarland and chopped a changeup to second for the last out.

Kodi Whitley replaced McFarland on the mound and retired Adames with a flyout to center. Bradley, Jr. struck out swinging at a fastball on the outside corner. Escobar also struck out swinging chasing a high fastball to close the frame.

9th Inning

Luke Maile subbed in to catch for Narvaez in the top of the ninth for the Brewers. Edman got a changeup up in the zone and hit it down the left field line for a leadoff double. Goldschmidt followed with a groundout to short. O’Neill drew a six-pitch walk. Arenado flew a fastball to the warning track in center for the second out. The Brewers medical team then checked on Norris, who stayed in the game to face Carlson. Carlson drew a walk to load the bases after which Norris was lifted for Hoby Milner. Milner’s first pitch was a sinker to Yadi, who got just enough of it to put it into the Brewers’ bullpen for a grand slam and a 14-2 lead. Sosa then got a sinker on the outside corner and deposited it into the bleachers in right field, stretching the lead to 15-2. Bader singled and pinch hitter Andrew Knizner got hit by a 3-2 sinker, but Edman lined out to center to end the Cardinals’ threat.

Knizner stayed in to catch and Lars Nootbaar came in to play left in the bottom of the ninth. Brandon Dickson replaced Whitley on the mound and surrendered a leadoff double to Maile. Urias followed with a ground-rule double, scoring Maile to make it 15-3.

Urias then advanced to third on defensive indifference and scored on a groundout by Tellez to close the deficit again to 15-4.

Pablo Reyes singled on an inside fastball, but pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach grounded into another 4-6-3 double play to secure the 15-4 win for the Cards.

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The Cardinals improve to 69-64 on the season and now sit 1.5 GB in third place for the second Wild Card spot behind both the Padres (0.5 GB) and the Reds. The second game of the series against the Brewers is slated for Saturday, with Kwang Hyun Kim scheduled to start across from Adrian Houser at 6:10 PM CT.

Battery Tracker

As those who watched the game no doubt know, Wainwright and Yadi’s appearance as a battery on Saturday puts them at 300 appearances together. They now sit just six games behind Red Faber and Ray Chalk, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1914 to 1926, for third all-time. A one-year deal for 2022 looks to be available to Wainwright, who at this point seems undecided whether he would return for one last season.

Final Pitching Lines

Cardinals

Wainwright (W, 14-7): 6.1 IP / 4 H / 2 R / 1 ER / 3 BB / 4 K / 0 HR

McFarland: 0.2 IP / 1 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 0 HR

Whitley: 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 0 BB / 2 K / 0 HR

Dickson: 1 IP / 4 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 0 HR

Brewers

Peralta (L, 9-4): 2 IP / 3 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 2 BB / 4 K / 1 HR

Topa: 0.2 IP / 4 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 0 BB / 0 K / 2 HR

Ashby: 4.1 IP / 1 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 1 BB / 4 K / 1 HR

Norris: 1.2 IP / 1 H / 3 R / 3 ER / 2 BB / 0 K / 0 HR

Milner: 0.1 IP / 3 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 0 BB / 2 K / 2 HR