Wainwright denied win 199, but Cardinals rally in ninth to win 10-6

After the Cardinals had their metaphorical bubble popped at Wrigley (no pun intended) over the weekend, the next stop was a brief three-game set against the snakes out in Arizona. The D-Backs have scuffled a bit lately, but are still in a playoff spot if the season ended today.

Here are today’s lineups for the Cardinals and D-Backs:

Cardinals:

1. Brendan Donovan, DH
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Nolan Arenado, 3B
4. Lars Nootbaar, LF
5. Jordan Walker, RF
6. Dylan Carlson, CF
7. Paul DeJong, SS
8. Taylor Motter, 2B
9. Andrew Knizner, C

Adam Wainwright - SP

Diamondbacks:

1. Geraldo Perdomo, SS
2. Ketel Marte, 2B
3. Corbin Carroll, LF
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. Lourdes Gurriel, DH
6. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B
7. Jake McCarthy, RF
8. Carson Kelly, C
9. Alek Thomas, CF

Ryne Nelson - SP

Adam Wainwright was on a loose 65-pitch max, and was able to gut out five innings of two-run ball and left looking like he had a great chance at win number 199. That did not happen, as the Cardinal bullpen couhed up two in the sixth and two in the seventh. St. Louis rallied for five in the ninth inning to shock the D-Backs, and hopefully Waino will have opportunities down the stretch to snag wins 199 and 200.

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1st Inning

Both teams got the sticks going in the first. The Cardinals struck first, and it was a friendly face to Diamondback fans as Paul Goldschmidt continues to haunt them. After Brendan Donovan sent the first pitch of the game into right field for a base hit, Goldschmidt capped off an eight-pitch at bat with a 444-foot moon blast into center field, making it 2-0 Cardinals right away.

Nelson attacked Arenado inside and got him to pop out to Marte at second base for the first out, but he walked Nootbaar on six pitches. Walker and Carlson both made loud contact against Nelson, but both flew out to deep center field. All in all, St. Louis made Nelson throw 28 pitches in the first inning.

Arizona got right after Wainwright as well, knowing that the veteran hurler was going to be limited to roughly 65 pitches. Wainwright missed high multiple times to Perdomo, walking the leadoff man on four pitches. Marte followed with a sharp single to right field, with Perdomo advancing to third base. Corbin Carroll’s sac fly made it 2-1, but Wainwright struck out Walker and got Gurriel to fly out to end the inning before things could get messier.

2nd Inning

A much quicker and cleaner second inning for Nelson against the bottom of the order — DeJong grounded out, and both Motter and Knizner popped out.

Emmanuel Rivera led off the bottom of the second with a base hit to right field. McCarthy’s soft ground ball back to Wainwright worked as a sac bunt, and Carson Kelly’s groundout moved Rivera to third with two outs. Alek Thomas came through with a two-out RBI single to center to score Rivera and tie things up, 2-2.

After the game-tying hit from Thomas, Wainwright struck out Perdomo looking with a curveball to end the second with things all tied up.

3rd Inning

Donovan once again swung at the first pitch he saw, ripping a first-pitch changeup from Nelson into center at 102 mph for a single. But Goldschmidt popped out to Kelly behind the plate and Arenado grounded into a double play (Marte grabbed it, stepped on the bag, and threw to first) to end the top of the third.

1-2-3 inning for Wainwright in the bottom of the third — his first of the game. Marte flew out to deep left field, Carroll struck out looking at a high and tight fastball, and Walker grounded out to Goldschmidt, who made a diving play on a ball hit up the first base line.

4th Inning

Lars Nootbaar drew a leadoff walk to start the fourth, and advanced to third on a perfectly placed double in the left-center field gap by Walker. Carlson’s sac fly to the warning track in center field scored Nootbaar to put St. Louis up 3-2, and Walker moved to third as well with only one out.

Nelson walked DeJong, and Motter followed him with his second RBI of the season — a base hit back up the middle to score Walker.

Knizner grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning, with St. Louis taking a 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Wainwright needed a quick inning if he wanted to have a chance to get through five innings on his 65-pitch limit and potentially qualify for a win. He did that, setting down the snakes in order on just eight pitches. Gurriel flew out to center, Rivera flew out to right, and McCarthy grounded out to third base.

5th Inning

Nelson got Donovan to fly out to left and Goldschmidt to ground out, but then he served up a gopher ball to Arenado to make it 5-2 St. Louis. Nolan went up and got a 96 mph fastball about letter-high and drove it 391 feet into left field for his 22nd homer of the season.

Nootbaar hit next and hit the ball even harder, topping Arenado’s 102 mph homer with a 106 mph single right back up the middle that almost took Nelson’s head off. Walker flew out to right field to end the top of the fifth.

Kelly grounded out and Thomas flew out, which put Wainwright at 62 pitches. If Oli Marmol was going to be strict about that pitch limit, the next hitter would’ve been Wainwright’s final batter. However, despite handing out a walk to Perdomo, the St. Louis bullpen was silent with Wainwright at 67 pitches. Marte then ripped a line shot single into right, moving Perdomo to third with two outs as Wainwright’s pitch count stood at 70.

Dusty Blake made a visit to the mound, surely telling Wainwright that regardless of result, Corbin Carroll was going to be his final hitter. Carroll got a hold of Wainwright’s 2-2 fastball and hit it far into right field, but Walker was able to settle under it a few steps in front of the warning track to make the catch, ending the fifth and officially making Wainwright eligible for win number 199.

Wainwright’s final line: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K’s (76 pitches)

6th Inning

Following a Dylan Carlson pop out, DeJong singled up the middle off Nelson for the eighth Cardinals hit of the game. Motter struck out swinging, and Knizner flew out to center field to end the inning.

Nelson wasn’t good, but he did battle through six innings and save the bullpen a some innings.

Chris Stratton — another guy who is unlikely to be on this roster in one week — took over in the bottom of the sixth. That trade value dropped a little bit after Christian Walker blasted an absolute tank off of him to start the inning, 417 feet into the left field seats — about 12 rows deep to make it 5-3.

Gurriel followed and hit a ground ball into the hole between third and short. Arenado ranged to his left and got to it easily, but when he spun around to throw he dropped the ball. Gurriel was awarded a hit on the play, but that one could’ve also gone as an E5.

Stratton walked Rivera to put the potential tying run on base with nobody out. He bounced back and struck out both McCarthy and Kelly, but walked Alek Thomas to load the bases with two outs.

Oli Marmol went and got Stratton and brought in left-hander JoJo Romero. That turned around Perdomo and made him hit right-handed. Romero hit him in the shoulder with the very first pitch he threw, which brought in a run to make it 5-4 St. Louis, putting No. 199 in jeopardy for Wainwright.

Marte hit a chopper to Arenado, who threw to second for the force out and just barely got Perdomo to end the inning.

Nelson’s final line: 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K (87 pitches)

7th Inning

Right-hander Austin Adams was the first Diamondbacks reliever to appear in the top of the seventh. Donovan led off and hit a 383-foot fly ball to center field, but Thomas tracked it down just short of the warning track. Goldschmidt flew out to right, and Arenado popped out on the infield.

Romero returned for the seventh. Carroll grounded out to Arenado at third base. Walker ripped a base hit into right field with one out, and Gurriel flew out to Tyler O’Neill — who entered as a defensive replacement — in left field. Emmanuel Rivera ripped a two-out base hit to left field, with Walker going first to third.

Arizona pinch-hit Evan Longoria for McCarthy, so St. Louis countered by bringing in Giovanny Gallegos to face him with Wainwright’s 199th win once again hanging on by a thread.

Longoria clobbered an 0-1 slider from Gallegos deep into the left-center field gap to drive in not one, but two runs, to give Arizona a late 6-5 lead. It also turned JoJo Romero into the pitcher of record, and took away Wainwright’s shot at a win.

Dominic Canzone pinch-hit for Kelly and flew out to center field.

8th Inning

Right-hander Scott McGough entered the game in the eighth inning, and got Nootbaar to fly out to center field for the first out of the inning. O’Neill flew out to right for the second out, and Carlson grounded out.

Gallegos stayed in for the eighth because well, why not. Thomas led off the inning with a base hit to center. Geraldo Perdomo dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position. Marte popped out on the infield for the second out of the inning, and Carroll struck out swinging.

9th Inning

Andrew Chafin jogged in from the bullpen to close this one out for Arizona, with DeJong, Motter, and Knizner due up. DeJong led off with a bloop single to right field. Motter struck out swinging, unable to move the runner over. Willcon Contreras pinch-hit for Knizner and drew a six-pitch walk. Donovan fell behind 0-2 aganst Chafin but eventually was able to flip a 1-2 sinker into left field for a base hit, loading the bases for Goldschmidt with still just one out.

Goldschmidt capped off a seven pitch at-bat with a base hit to left, scoring DeJong to tie things up once again, 6-6.

Arenado swung at a pitch that was spiked in the dirt a foot in front of the plate and struck out, leaving all the runners right where they were. On Chafin’s 37th pitch of the inning, he walked Nootbaar to force in a run and put the Cardinals ahead, 7-6. It was Nootbaar’s third walk of the game, and it was most pitches Chafin had thrown all season in one appearance.

Chafin was pulled and right-hander Kevin Ginkel entered the game. Ginkel grooved a 2-2 slider right down broadway to O’Neill, and he hit a 107 mph laser beam all the way to the wall in left field, clearing the bases and making it 10-6 St. Louis. Carlson grounded out to first to end the top of the ninth.

Jordan Hicks entered the game in a non-save situation, up four runs. Christian Walker fought off several pitches and eventually earned a walk after a 10-pitch at bat. Gurriel hit a ground ball to third base, and Arenado went to second for the force out. Rivera hit a single to left field — his third hit of the game. Jose Herrera — who entered the game for Carson Kelly in the seventh — hit a ground ball back to Hicks that essentially worked as a sacrifice bunt, moving both runners into scoring position. Hicks struck out Dominic Canzone with a 102 mph sinker to end it.

FINAL: Cardinals 10, D-Backs 6

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Up Next

St. Louis (45-56) will have a chance to steal a road series with a win tomorrow night against the D-Backs (54-47) at Chase Field. Steven Matz (1-7, 4.67 ERA) will throw for the Cardinals after a very strong start against the Cubs last week. Merrill Kelly (9-4, 3.22 ERA) was the reported starter during the broadcast, but the D-Backs have not officially listed one as of 11pm.

First pitch is set for 8:40 p.m.

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Around the Central

Brewers 3, Reds 2

Pirates 8, Padres 4

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Today’s Immaculate Grid

Immaculate Grid #113 - 7/9
Rarity: 326