A VEB Late Nite Recap
First pitch, 6:46 PM CDT, Busch Stadium.
Oneil Cruz dribbled a soft grounder to Miles Mikolas—just a flicker, a glitch, a single. Bryan Reynolds: swing, crack, fly ball, gone. The arch is a fever dream. Cruz floated home. Two runs for Pittsburgh, and the scoreboard blinked like a twitched out tired old eye. Reynolds’ fifth. Time is an illusion: 00:28 ticks by and means nothing.
Andrew McCutchen lifted a pop fly, weak and nervous, dying in shortstop Jose Barrero’s mitt. One out. Joey Bart walked the line. Enmanuel Valdez took flight but Brendan Donovan was waiting, impassive. Two outs. Ke’Bryan Hayes rolled one to third; Arenado collects, Contreras completes the ritual. Three outs. Bottom first.
Lars Nootbaar popped up, foul territory, Hayes was there—one away. Alec Burleson lined out to Reynolds in right, no sweat. Donovan fly out, Reynolds again, a shadow in the outfield. Three routine deaths.
Top second. Adam Frazier sent one up—Victor Scott II swallowed it, center field. Tommy Pham swings through the void, and struck out. Mikolas grinning. Jared Triolo ground out, Barrero to Contreras, smooth as silk. Out, out, out.
Bottom second. Arenado lashed a single, left field. Contreras lifted one, Reynolds again with the catch. Gorman flies to Cruz in center. Passed ball. Bart can’t hold on; Arenado drifted over to second, sliding through the static of the season. Pagés took a pitch—pain is just another note in the score. Scott II swung, & missed. Mlodzinski punched the air. End of frame.
Top third. Cruz took a pitch to the body—no reaction, just chemical process. He ran, the gears grinded, Pagés fired to Barrero. Caught stealing. Two down. Reynolds flew out, Donovan was there. McCutchen tapped a soft one, Mikolas to Contreras, third out.
Bottom third. Barrero—contact, flight, gone. Solo home run! The crowd exhaled. Cardinals down 2-1. Nootbaar fly out, Cruz was under it. Burleson, solo shot, right center, tie game. 2-2! Donovan grounded out, Valdez to Mlodzinski. Arenado popped up, foul, Hayes closed the door.
Top fourth. Bart walked, limped to first. Valdez ripped a single to right, Bart to second. Hayes flew out, Donovan was a statue. Frazier lined one, center field, Bart came home. 3-2, Pittsburgh. Pham walked, bases clogged: Valdez third, Frazier second. Triolo—ground ball, Barrero, Gorman, Contreras: double play, the circuit completed. Three out, three in.
Bottom fourth. Contreras singled, sharp and clinical. Gorman grounded into a double play—Valdez, Triolo, Frazier, numbers in a ledger. Pagés grounded out, Hayes to Valdez. Three outs, no echoes.
Top fifth. Cruz, groundout to Contreras. Reynolds fly out, Scott II tracked it down. McCutchen lined out, Donovan gloved it, ended the noise.
Bottom fifth. Scott II flew out to Cruz. Barrero swung through air, he gone. Mlodzinski out, Borucki in. Nootbaar walked, a slow parade. Burleson lined out, Triolo is unflinching.
Top sixth. Mikolas out, Graceffo in. Bart flew out, Scott II. Valdez grounded out, Gorman to Contreras. Hayes ground out, Barrero to Contreras—three outs, no movement.
Bottom sixth. Donovan grounded out, Valdez handled it. Borucki out, Shugart in. Arenado walked. Contreras—swing, line drive, gone. Two-run shot, the crowd howls! 4-3, St. Louis! Gorman singled, right field, Frazier’s glove fumbled. Pagés singles, Cruz corrals it. Scott II singled, right field, bases stacked up. Barrero, ground-rule double, left field line, two score. 6-3, St. Louis, the room spins. Shugart out, Ferguson in. Nootbaar flew to center, Cruz throws Scott II out at home, double play, time folds in on itself.
Top seventh. Graceffo out, Leahy in. Frazier flew to Donovan, foul territory. Pham reached on Barrero’s wild throw, error code blinking. Triolo walked, two on. Cruz called out, frozen. Reynolds lined out, Scott II is a ghost making the Pirates disappear. Jolly Roger sinking.
Bottom seventh. Ferguson out, Wentz in. Burleson lined out to Reynolds. Donovan doubled, rattling off the wall. Arenado popped up, Triolo shaded his eyes. Contreras ground out, Hayes to Valdez.
Top eighth. Leahy out, Maton in. McCutchen grounded out, Contreras. Bart grounded out, Arenado to Contreras. Valdez doubled, left field, Nootbaar chased shadows. Hayes struck out on a foul tip, three outs, three more ghosts at the bottom of the sea.
Bottom eighth. Gorman walked, Pagés doubled, ricocheted off Triolo, Gorman to third. Scott II, Barrero, Nootbaar—three swinging strikeouts, all flailing at shadows. Ship sunk.
Top ninth. Maton out, Helsley in. Frazier singled, to center field. Pham ground out, Gorman to Contreras, Frazier to second. Gorski pinch-hit, but swings, misses, whiffs at the void. Cruz singled, Donovan fielded, Frazier to third. Cruz crept to second, no one’s watching—defensive indifference, apathy in motion. Reynolds called out on strikes, the heater hissing, last hope stifled. The Cardinals win three in a row.
Lights flicker, score holds, the night dissolves.
Umpire Balls and Strikes
- Another constricted strike zone
- Miles Mikolas 5 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB
- an inning a piece for Graceffo, Leahy, Maton, Helsley
- Graceffo had a perfect outing but no K
- Leahy walked a guy but struck a guy out too, also no hits
- Maton gave up a hit and had a K
- Helsley made it interesting at the end but ultimately prevailed with 2 K and 2 hits allowed for his 6th save of the season
- 6-3 Cardinals makes it 3 wins in a row
- Home runs tonight by Burleson (1 RBI), Contreras (2 RBI), and Barrero (3 RBI)!
- Everyone had a hit except for Nootbaar who was 0-4 with a BB and a K
- Every Cardinal got on base tonight
- Barrero and Contreras 2-4
- Contreras is up to 5 home runs on the season, is above 100 wRC+ in 2025 now, and has a .500 OBP with 2 home runs so far in the first 5 days of May
Tune in tomorrow for Liberatore vs Skenes at 6:45!