6 serious stars in St. Louis Cardinals series win over Reds
The St. Louis Cardinals got a nice little confidence boost playing the Cincinnati Reds before the All-Star Break.
The Cardinals took the two games played in their final series before the All-Star Break with the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals won Friday 7-3 and on Saturday 11-3. The game Sunday was postponed due to some much needed rain in the area.
The postponed game will be played as part of a doubleheader on Sept. 17.
Andre Pallante earned his first win in some time on Friday. He’s now 3-4 on the season. He pitched five innings, giving up six hits, three walks and three earned runs. He did strike out five and induced five swings and misses. It wasn’t the most outstanding of performances but thanks to some good offense, it was good to see Pallante get the win.
The bullpen also looked good in this game. Giovanny Gallegos earned his sixth hold of the season, pitching the sixth inning. He gave up one hit but did strike out three. He induced five swings and misses. Jordan Hicks pitched 1.1 innings.
Genesis Cabrera pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits and striking out one. He did induce two swings and misses. Cabrera created a little controversy as he spike the ball off the mound when Manager Oli Marmol removed him from the game. Marmol grabbed Cabrera and addressed the matter, before the young reliever headed to the dugout where he was given a lecture to by Cardinals clubhouse leader Albert Pujols. It was something to behold and you instantly knew the matter was being taken care of as Pujols spoke with the youngster.
Ryan Helsley earned his eighth save of the season, pitching the ninth giving up one hit and striking out one. Helsley hit a top speed of 101.5 mph.
Miles Mikolas earned his seventh win of the season on Saturday, pitching in a scorcher of an outing. Mikolas went seven innings, giving up three hits, a walk and a home run to Jonathan India to begin the game. Not the greatest way to start a game, but Mikolas settled down and pitched well, striking out four batters, inducing seven swings and misses, and keeping the Cards in the game.
T.J. McFarland entered the game in the eighth inning, managing a third of an inning. He gave up two walks and two runs in the outting. Not a great effort from the struggling reliever. He needs this break desperately.
Johan Oviedo pitched the final 1.2 innings, giving up a hit and a walk, but striking out two and inducing three swings and misses. It’s nice to see his improvement. Really nice.
The Cardinals go in to the All-Star break with a record of 50-44. After the break, the Cardinals head out on a lengthy road trip that begins Friday in Cincinnati. They will have a three game set with the Reds at their place. Hopefully this is a nice jump start for the last half of the season. It should be fun!
Now let’s take a look at the stars from the series to end the first half.
Tommy Edman
Edman appeared to break out of a recent slump with a good series against the Reds.
In the first inning of Friday’s game, Edman scored the Cardinals first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field. Edman also scored in the second inning thanks to a double off the bat of Dylan Carlson.
With the bases loaded in the first inning of Saturday’s game, Brendan Donovan walked, scoring Edman. Edmundo Sosa was hit by a pitch to score Albert Pujols.
Edman was 2-for-5 with three runs, two hits and a walk.
Brendan Donovan
The Cardinals pesky rookie, Brendan Donovan, also appeared to bust out of a sluggish stretch after a brief illness.
Donovan knocked a sacrifice fly in the first inning to score Dylan Carlson. In the seventh inning, Donovan singled to left field scoring Carlson and Paul Goldschmidt.
He was 1-for-3 on Saturday with a run scored and an RBI, while getting a walk.
Dylan Carlson
Carlson continued to impress with his defense in centerfield and made some key hits in the series. Carlson just keeps proving his worth to the club and it’s great to see.
In the second inning Friday, Carlson knocked a double to left field, scoring Tommy Edman.
In the third inning of Saturday’s game, Carlson hit a triple to right field, scoring Edman. The two were amazing as they sped around the base path. The triple was Carlson’s third of the season.
In the seventh inning, Carlson reached base on a fielder’s choice to shortstop. Lars Nootbaar scored on the effort and throwing error by Reds shortstop Matt Reynolds.
Nolan Gorman
The top rookie prospect just keeps hitting.
Nolan Gorman hit a homer run in the fourth inning on a fly to right field off Hunter Greene. The blast traveled 387 feet at 105.2 mph.
Gorman was entered the game Saturday after Edmundo Sosa exited with an apparent injury. Gorman was 1-for-1, with a run scored.
Paul Goldschmidt
He finally did it! Goldschmidt knocked the 300th home run of his career on Saturday.
In the second inning of Saturday’s game, Goldschmidt hit the 20th home run of the season on a fly to left center field off Nick Lodolo, scoring Tommy Edman. The home run traveled 391 feet at 103.1 mph.
What a shot! Nice to see him earn this achievement in St. Louis. And before the All-Star break!
In the third inning, Goldschmidt singled to right field, scoring Carlson.
Lars Nootbaar
Nootbaar was quickly able to rejoin the St. Louis club as Juan Yepez was placed on the injured list prior to the start of this series with the Reds.
In the eighth inning, Nootbaar proved it was a great decision to bring him back so quickly as he launched his fourth home run of the season. The homer traveled on a fly to right field, scoring Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman. The blast went 426 feet at a staggering 110 mph.
It will be fun to see what Noot can do in the second half!