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Saturday was another beautiful day for Cardinals baseball in New York City (until the ninth inning rain) with Adam Wainwright on the bump, looking to finish six innings for the first time this season. And hey, a loss still means the Cardinals could inch closer and closer to grabbing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. When you think of it that way, we can’t lose.
(Fortunately, that did not happen. I typed up that paragraph before the game began)
Here are the lineups Saturday afternoon:
Cardinals:
- Brendan Donovan, RF
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Nolan Arenado, 3B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jordan Walker, LF
- Nolan Gorman, 2B
- Paul DeJong, SS
- Tommy Edman, CF
- Alec Burleson, DH
Adam Wainwright - SP
Mets:
- Brandon Nimmo, CF
- Starling Marte, RF
- Jeff McNeil, 2B
- Tommy Pham, LF
- Brett Baty, 3B
- Francisco Alvarez, C
- Daniel Vogelbach, DH
- Mark Canha, 1B
- Luis Guillorme, SS
Kodai Senga - SP
Well how about that, a win on Waino bumpday! He wasn’t unbelievably sharp, but Wainwright navigated through six-plus innings after giving up a run on the very first pitch of the game. He allowed three earned runs and struck out three.
Now, if we can get say, 13 more of those in a row.... then we’ll really be cooking.
1st Inning
Donovan swung at the first pitch of the ballgame and popped out to Guillorme in shallow left field. Goldschmidt singled to right field with one out. Arenado flew out to right field for out number two, but a Contreras HBP and a walk to Jordan Walker loaded the bases. However, Nolan Gorman wasn’t able to come through with the bases loaded, striking out swinging against Senga’s “ghost” forkball in the dirt.
Brandon Nimmo swung at the first pitch just like his leadoff counterpart didn, except Nimmo did a bit more than Donovan did. Wainwright’s first pitch sinker was clobbered 407 feet into the right field seats for a leadoff homer, putting the Mets up 1-0 early. It was Nimmo’s seventh homer of the season.
Wainwright set down the next three Mets in order — Marte flew out to deep center field, McNeil grounded out to short, and Pham flew out to center field.
2nd Inning
Paul DeJong started the second inning by striking out on three pitches Tommy two-bags Edman yanked a one-out double down the third base line, getting into scoring position for Alec Burleson. Burleson didn’t come through (he struck out), but the next batter very much did. With two outs, Brendan Donovan stroked a 104 mph single to Nimmo in center field, scoring Edman and tying things up, 1-1.
Paul Goldschmidt stepped in with two outs and swung at Senga’s first pitch, ripping a frozen rope into right field that carried all the way out for a two-run homer. The ball didn’t look like it ever went more than 15 feet off the ground, but it carried 356 feet and just barely snuck over the wall in right for a homer that put the Cardinals up 3-1. It was Goldschmidt’s 13th homer of the year. Nolan Arenado struck out swinging to end the top of the second.
Mets’ rookie third baseman Brett Baty led off the second with a base hit to left field. Another rookie, Franscisco Alvarez, hit a towering fly ball to left field that Walker got under for the first out. Wainwright walked The Fridge (Vogelbach) on four pitches, which brought up Mark Canha. The former Oakland A’s outfielder hit a ball right at Arenado, grounding into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
3rd Inning
Contreras hit first, grounding out to Baty at third. Jordan Walker followed, and after falling behind 0-2, he took advantage of a mistake pitch from Senga, clobbering a high fastball 375 feet into right field and over the wall for a homer — his fifth of the season — to make it 4-1 Cardinals.
Gorman flew out to right field and DeJong struck out for the second time to send this game to the bottom of the third.
Waino got two quick outs with Guillorme flying out to left and Nimmo popping out on the infield. Starling Marte disrupted things with a two-out double to the left field wall, but that’s where he stayed, as McNeil grounded out to Goldschmidt at first to end the inning.
4th Inning
Senga worked his first three up, three down inning in the top of the fourth. Edman flew out to center field, Burleson hit a line drive right into Canha’s glove at first, and Donovan grounded out.
Tommy Pham led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit to left field, but was quickly erased when Baty grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Alvarez hit the ball right at Gorman too, but the Cardinals’ second baseman caught the 105 mph to end the inning.
5th Inning
Goldschmidt struck out looking at a knee-high slider and Arenado flew out to right field for two quick outs. Contreras hit a standard ground ball at Guillorme, but the ball went right between his legs and into left field. He was charged with an E6, with two outs. Jordan Walker struck out swinging for the third out, sending it to the bottom of the fifth.
The Fridge led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a line drive single to right field. Canha struck out swinging at the patended Wainwright curveball that Mets fans are very familiar with, but Luis Guillorme turned on a 2-0 sinker and rocked it 400 feet into right-center field for a two-run homer, making it just 4-3 Cardinals. It was Guillorme’s first home run of the season.
After the homer, Nimmo worked a seven-pitch walk. A mound visit followed, and then Wainwright got out of the inning by striking out Marte and geting McNeil to ground out to shortstop.
6th Inning
The Cardinals were retired in order by Senga in the top of the sixth. Gorman flew out to right field, DeJong popped out on the infield, and Edman was called out on strikes.
Pham led off in the bottom of the sixth and grounded out, folloed by a Bretty Baty strikeout on a 72 mph looping curveball. Alvarez singled up the middle with two outs, but Vogelbach’s tapper back to Wainwright on the mound was an easy enough for for the longtime Cardinals’ horse, as he tossed over to first to send this game to the seventh.
7th Inning
Despite giving up four runs, Senga returned for the seventh and got Burleson and Donovan to ground out. The Mets lifted him at this point, bringing in right-handed relief pitcher Jeff Brigham to face Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt walked, reaching base for the third time in the game. Arenado grounded into a fielder’s choice for out number three, with Brett Baty fielding th ground ball and going to second base to get Goldy.
Wainwright returned for the seventh inning, having just completed six innings for the first time this season. He got Canha to fly out, and then Oli Marmol opted to go to the bullpen rather than letting Wainwright face Guillorme, who homered off him earlier in the game.
Andre Pallante entered the game to face Guillorme, and it resulted in a one-out double down into the left field corner. Nimmo hit a 104 mph ground ball to Gorman at second base for the second out, with Guillorme moving to third. Marte drew a two-out walk as the potential go-ahead run. Jeff McNeil hit a sharp ground ball to DeJong at shortstop, who made the throw across to end the seventh.
Senga’s final line: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K’s (99 pitches)
Wainwright’s final line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB’s, 3 K’s (93 pitches)
8th Inning
Both Contreras and Walker flew out to center field, and then the Mets went to the bullpen to bring in a lefty to face Gorman. Left-hander Brooks Raley entered and Gorman grounded out to second base.
Marmol called Giovanny Gallegos into the game in the eighth inning. Tommy Pham led off ans struck out swinging at a slider that darted down and out of the zone. Bret Baty fell behind 0-2, but was able to work back into a more favorable 2-2 count and then singled to left field with one out. Alvarez flew out to deep center field for the second out, and Vogelbach struck out swinging at a slider that bounced in front of the plate.
9th Inning
DeJong led off the ninth inning with a line drive single into left field off Raley. Edman hit next and grounded into what was initially ruled a 4-6-3 double play, but the Cardinals challenged that Edman was safe at first, and won the challange.
Marmol pinch-hit Dylan Carlson for Alec Burleson, and while Carlson was batting Edman stole second base — his 11th stolen base of the season. Carlson came through with an RBI single to left, making it 5-3 (and making that stolen base oh so important).
Donovan followed Carlson’s base hit with another, putting two runners on and one out. The Mets went to the bullpen again, bringing in tricky right-hander Adam Ottavino to face Goldschmidt. Ottavino struck out Goldschmidt with a changeup on the inside portion of the plate and Arenado with a high fastball near the eyeballs to escape the inning without any further damage.
Jordan Hicks took over in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead. Francisco Lindor pinch-hit for Canha to start the inning. Hicks got ahead of Lindor 1-2, and then hit him in the arm with a 102 mph fastball. He struck out Guillorme with a 103 mph fastball up in the zone, and did the same with Nimmo — although a wild pitch during Nimmo’s at bat allowed Lindor to advance to second base. Hicks struck out Starling Marte on three pitches to end the game.
There’s number 198 for Uncle Charlie. Ballgame.
FINAL: Cardinals 5, Mets 3
Up Next
The Cardinals (28-43) actually have an opportunity to win a series tomorrow afternoon against the Mets (33-37) at Citi Field. The Cardinals last series win was the four-game series against the Dodgers from May 18-21. Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 5.14 ERA) will get another chance to prove that he has staying power with a game three start. Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 5.71 ERA) will start for the Mets. First pitch is set for 12:40 p.m.
Around the Central
Cubs 3, Orioles 2
Brewers 5, Pirates 0
Reds 10, Astros 3 — BOT 9
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