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After another loss Wednesday that might’ve been the worst of the season (I’m pretty numb to it at this point), the Cardinals hopped a flight to Gotham to take on another dissapointing team, the New York Mets. Uncle Stevie’s $359-million dollar payroll has produced a sub-.500 record this season, and the Cardinals aren’t even going to see the combo of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander this weekend.
Here are the starting lineups for both squads tonight:
Cardinals:
- Brendan Donovan, 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Nolan Gorman, DH
- Nolan Arenado, 3B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jordan Walker, LF
- Dylan Carlson, RF
- Paul DeJong, SS
- Tommy Edman, CF
Miles Mikolas - SP
Mets:
- Brandon Nimmo, CF
- Starling Marte, RF
- Jeff McNeil, 2B
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Brett Baty, 3B
- Tommy Pham, LF
- Daniel Vogelbach, DH
- Mark Canha, 1B
- Omar Narvaez, C
Tylor Megill - SP
Well, another loss. So is life. Contreras hit the ball hard in three of his four at bats, so that’s a marked improvement.
I’m also curious why Paul DeJong is still in the lineup every day. The Cardinals rode the hot hand his first few weeks back, but those days are over. It might be time to slide Edman back to shortstop (you know, the position they said he’d play every day, even when DeJong came back), move Calrson back into center, slide Walker back to right field, Donovan to left, and give Luken Baker a longer look at DH. Just my opinion!
Here’s how loss number 43 went down, friends:
1st Inning
Lot of soft contact for the Redbirds in the top of the first. Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt both grounded out to second base, and Gorman popped out on the infield.
Just like in each of his last two starts, Mikolas gave up multiple runs early to put the Cardinals in a hole. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs courtesy of a Brandon Nimmo walk and base hits from Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil. Lindor stepped in and hit a soft grounder back to Mikolas, who tossed home, followed by a throw from Contreras down to first for a 1-2-3 double play.
This set up rookie third baseman Brett Baty with two runners in scoring position and two outs. He converted, pulling a ball down the first base line into right field for a two-run double to make it 2-0 Mets.
Former Cardinal Tommy Pham followed with a run-scoring single to center field, scoring Baty and making it 3-0 New York in the bottom of the first. Daniel Vogelback, aka “The Fridge” popped out on the infield to end the first inning.
2nd Inning
More weak contact from the Cardinals in the second, as they were retired 1-2-3. Groundouts from Arenado and Walker were sandwiched around a Willson Contreras strikeout. Megill threw 14 pitches in the second inning.
The Mets were retired in order as well in the bottom half of the inning, although Mikolas did it on just seven pitches. Canha flew out to shallow center field, Narvaez grounded out to second base, and Nimmo flew out to Carlson in right field.
3rd Inning
The Cardinals got a hit in the third inning, although they were not forunate enough to score and cut into the Mets’ lead. Dylan Carlson struck out after an eight-pitch battle, followed by a one-out single to left field by DeJong. Tommy Edman couldn’t contribute with a popout to Lindor at short, and Donovan struck out swinging for out number three.
Marte and McNeil led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back base knocks, putting runners on the corners with nobody out for Lindor. The star shortstop didn’t ground into a double play this time. Instead, he wacked a deep fly ball to left field for a sac fly, making it 4-0 Mets. McNeil also tagged up from first to second on the play.
Baty grounded out to Goldschmidt at first base to move the runner to third, and Pham drove in another run with his second RBI single of the game — this time to left field. The Fridge grounded out to end the inning, with the Mets now leading 5-0.
4th Inning
Megill waltzed through the heart of the Cardinals’ order in the top of the fourth. Goldschmidt popped out, Gorman struck out, and Arenado’s 98 mph ground ball was cleanly fielded by Baty, before beating Arenado at first by several steps on the throw.
Canha led off the bottom of the fourth with a deep fly ball to right-center field that Edman didn’t take the best route on, but he was able to adjust and make an impressive over-the-sholder catch on the warning track for the first out in the bottom of the fourth. Narvaez lined out to DeJong at short for out number two, and Nimmo flew out to center to end the fourth.
5th Inning
The Cardinals came roaring into the fifth inning like a lion, with a leadoff homer by Willson Contreras followed by a double down the third base line by Jordan Walker. Contreras’ homer traveled 421 feet and was his eighth of the season.
The Cardinals went out like a lamb, however — as they are prone to doing as soon as runners get into scoring position. With Walker on second and nobody out, Carlson was hit in the ankle by a fastball from Megill. The Cardinals did not advance those runners at all the rest of the inning. Instead, they recorded three outs without putting the ball in play:
- Struck out (DeJong)
- Caught stealing (Walker, at third)
- Struck out (Edman)
Mikolas pitched a scoreless fifth on 10 pitches. Marte and McNeil both flew out, and Lindor was called out on strikes.
6th Inning
Brendan Donovan led off the sixth with a single, but as has been the case too often lately, he never moved off first base. Goldschmidt flew out to the warning track in right field, Gorman struck out swinging for the second consecutive at bat, and Arenado lined out to Marte in right field.
Mikolas got two quick outs in the sixth, but ran into a big problem with two outs.... a six-foot tall, 275-pound problem. After falling behind Daniel Vogelbach 3-1, Mikolas threw a 92 mph cream puff down the middle, and the fridge promptly turned on it and deposited it 401 feet into the upper level of right field seats for a solo homer.
Mikolas plunked Canha with a curveball that didn’t break with two outs, but Narvaez flew out to end the inning, with New York up 6-1.
Mikolas final line: 6 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (87 pitches)
Megill’s final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (90 pitches)
7th Inning
The Cardinals threatened again in the seventh against former Cardinal Dominic Leone, but once St. Louis got a runner in scoring position, it all fizzled out — per the usual. Contreras led off the inning with a base hit to right field, his first multi-hit game since May 18th. Walker struck out on three pitches, and then Carlson was drilled in the elbow with a 92 mph fastball. After the training staff checked him out, he took first base and remained in the game.
The Carlson HBP also moved Contreras into scoring position, which meant it was the perfect time for an inning-ending double play. DeJong swung at a first-pitch cutter from Leone, grounding it over to Lindor for a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and kill the threat.
Genesis Cabrera took over on the mound in the seventh following six sluggish innings froma struggling Mikolas. Cabby got three outs on eight pitches, with Nimmo, Marte, and McNeil all grounding out.
8th Inning
Left-hander Josh Walker jogged in from the bullpen to begin the eighth. Easy 1-2-3 inning for him, striking out Edman and Donovan before a Goldschmidt flyout to deep right.
Drew VerHagen twirled the second consecutive scoreless inning from the Cardinals’ bullpen in the bottom of the eighth. He struck out Lindor and Baty, followed by a Pham flyout.
9th Inning
Gorman strikeout (hat trick!), Arenado flyout, Contreras flyout. Ballgame.
Game time: 2 hours, 1 minute
FINAL: Mets 6, Cardinals 1
Up Next
The Cardinals (27-43) will try not to make me sad once again tomorrow against the Mets (33-36). Adam Wainwright (2-1, 5.79 ERA) will throw for St. Louis. Waino has not been able to complete six innings yet this season. Japanese right-hander Kodai Senga (6-3, 3.34 ERA) will toe the rubber for New York. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m.
Around the Central
Cubs 10, Orioles 3
Reds 0, Astros 0 - TOP 5
Brewers 3, Pirates 1 - BOT 4
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