The nightcap was more madcap. 14 runs, 19 hits for the Birds on the Bat
Game Result
An offensive explosion (19 hits, 3 HR) by the Cardinals offense was enough to overcome a pitching implosion by Sonny Gray as they overcome an early 5-1 deficit to win 14-7 behind 4 RBI by Alec Burleson.
Pre-game Notes
- The Cardinals/Mets play the second game of a split doubleheader today, as a result of a rain-out yesterday. This is actually the make-up game.
- The Cardinals are coming off a nail-biting 2-1 win in the matinee. This game will be the rubber game for the series in Philadelphia, and a chance for the Cardinals to take the season series from the Phils.
- Saw an X-Tweet from Hence that suggests he is about ready to start pitching.
- Chase Davis hits his 3rd HR of the season at AA today. Interestingly, all 3 HR have been against the same pitcher.
Line-up (and roster) Machinations
- Nola goes for the Phillies. He has had a rough start to the year. His career has been marked by an every-other-year up-down cycle. Great one year, more ordinary the next. This is the down year of his cycle.
- Gray goes for the Cardinals. The ballpark and line-up don’t seem to be a great match for him, but a lot of guys could say that.
- Line-up is a different configuration. Gorman at third. Arenado at DH. Burleson in RF. Oli lines up 4 LH hitters in a row 7-8-9-1. Odd for him. Wonder if that will come into play later.
- Bullpen should be in good shape. Matz pitched 2+ innings, so he is down. Graceffo pitched .2 IP. They may want to see how he bounces back ut probably would avoid him as the first alternative. Everyone else should be good to go.
The Game
This will be the shorthand version, with highlights and commentary, but not a blow-by-blow scorecard read.
The Cardinals got two quick hits to start the game, but the middle of the order fizzles, managing but a run on a ground out for an early lead. That quickly becomes moot when Sonny Gray pitches as poorly as he has in his time in St. Louis, quickly turning a 1-0 lead into a 5-1 deficit, highlighted by a key double and a long HR. Fooling few and getting smacked by the Phillies MOTO hitters to the tune of 103/105/102 MPH hits, Gray had trouble locating any of his pitches. An excruciating second inning ballooned Gray’s pitch count to over 50, but he avoided further damage.
Nootbar hits a third inning solo HR. Nola doesn’t give off the vibes that he is long for this game, but that 5 spot really gives him a cushion. A walk to Winn followed by a Donovan double narrows the score to 5-3. An infield out by Contreras nets another run and all the sudden it’s a 5-4 game. Burleson with a 2-run HR and the Cardinals have returned the 5-run explosion in kind and take a 6-5 lead. What a see-saw game that is only 30 minutes old. Oli may have to unload the bullpen now.
Gray and Nola stay in and exchange more home runs. Castellanos for Phillies, Winn for Cardinals. This is turning into two aging star pitchers trying to outlast each other in mud wrestling. Lots of messiness and wheezing. Philly fans booing Nola. The Game Win Probability Graph on Statcast looks like it is registering a large earthquake.
Nola doesn’t make it through the 4th, getting 3.2 IP, 12 H, 1 BB, 3 HR, 9 runs. What a truly ugly line for him. A career worst for him. Good line for the Cardinal offense though. A two-run single by Burleson (against a lefty!) boosts the Cardinal lead to 9-6. Wow!
Gray returns and promptly adds to the Home Derby by awarding Bohm a meatball he smacks. Gray is mercifully removed in the 4th. Similar line as Nola, not quite as bad. 3.2 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 3 HR, 7 runs. He leaves, perhaps not enjoying the slugfest as much as the hitters are.
By the way, the rumor is not true. My mother did not tell me there would be days like this. My pitching coach did, and he was nothing like my mother which is good for him. If you knew my mother, you’d understand.
Philly and Cardinal relievers worked to restore order, keeping the game 9-7 into the eighth. Roycroft and King get the game to the bridge relievers, which started with Romero against the lefties in the middle of the order.
In the eighth inning, Scott singles. This gave every hitter in the line-up at least one hit. Then he steals 2nd, advances to third on a deep fly and scores on a Winn RBI single to stretch the lead to 10-7. The Cardinals tack on a couple more runs with the aid of a walk, an error and a wild pitch. Turning ugly for the Phillies. Now 12-7 heading into B8.
The Cardinals small ball their way to 2 more runs in the ninth and win out 14-7. Maton and Svanson finished the game.
One notable item: In a remarkable, man bites dog turn of events, Jordan Walker enters the game as a pinch runner for Alec Burleson and serves as a defensive replacement in RF.
Post-game Notes
- Cardinals jet off to Kansas City for an early morning arrival. They will have a day off in KC tomorrow to reset and get better sleep before Friday’s game.
- Herrera has an OPS of 1.136. That is good…for a catcher.
- I notice teams are really busting Scott inside with everything now. He must be jamming himself. They’ve adjusted to him, now he gets to adjust back.
- The Cardinals typically do a mid- to late-May re-shuffle of minor leaguers, so I’m looking for that soon. This year may be a bit subdued as there has already been a lot of shuffling due to the spate of injuries in the upper echelons. I am wondering if Wetherholt will move up, possibly, but he has gotten derailed in the last couple of weeks due to health concerns. In ways, it seems like the whole team got sick. Chase, Rivas and Wetherholt all quit hitting at the same time. Roby, perhaps, moves to AAA? It might be a bit early for that. Church is at AA and AAA seems more like where he should be. He was hurt for a while. If he finds himself blocked by the guys they have at Memphis, that will tell us how they evaluate his long-term prospects. I expect Honeyman might move to A+, although they can be funny about moving guys out of Palm Beach up to Peoria sometimes. It’s almost like they view Peoria as purgatory.