Game Summary
The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead within four batters, highlighted by an Alec Burleson RBI double. After that, short starts by the 27th men turned this close game into a battle of the bullpens. The under-rated Reds bullpen was able to hold down the Cardinals offense, inducing 1-13 with RISP to keep the game closer than Oli Marmol would have cared for. A quintet of Cardinal relievers held fast the remainder of the way for a taut 2-1 win to open a key five game series against the Reds.
Pre-game notes
- This morning, the tilt is a make-up of a previously rained out game (the one Brycen Mautz was supposed to start). This time, Quinn Mathews will serve as the 27th man and will make the start.
- Weather could yet again be a factor, although more likely for the night game.
- The Reds counter with Kent Emanual, a 34-year-old lefthander. There is some story there, if you are interested. 3 TJ surgeries?
The first innings
The Cardinals jumped out early. Joshua Baez, leading off, draws the HBP. Herrera walks. After a Walker K (those are starting to add up), a Burly double gets the Cardinals out to an early two run lead. Fermin grounds out and Winn continues his struggles with a K. But an early 2-0 lead is a good thing, particularly when Mathews came out and opened his outing with 3 strikeouts.
In second, the feel goods returned as Blaze Jordan opened up with yet again another triple. However, the bottom of this line-up did their thing and Jordan never moved off third base. Mathews worked himself into trouble in the 2nd with a couple of walks but worked out of it.
In the third, a walk to Herrera (again) and a single by Burly put Emanual back on the ropes, but a GIDP by Fermin rescued him. Mathews worked through the bottom of the third with a walk. He compiled 5 Ks and 3 BBs in the first three innings.
The middle innings
Another walk and single put Emanual on the ropes yet again, but Pages and Baez were unable to capitalize. The Cardinals are 1-10 w/ RISP in just four innings. I heard the ghost of Mike Shannon saying you can’t let a team hang around like this…
In the bottom of the 4th, Dane Myers saw eleven (!) Mathews pitches and liked the eleventh pitch enough to deposit it in the upper deck to cut the Cardinal lead in half. Mathews command seemed to be drifting and his velocity seemed to be dropping as he piled up 32 (!) pitches while working through the fourth inning, ending up the inning above 90 pitches, effectively ending his outing. He has a lot of whiff in his game, but it is easy to see the next step in his development is to reduce the number of uncompetitive (waste) pitches he throws. This game takes on the feel of a game that will burn down the bullpen, win or lose.
Rolling into the fifth, a Walker double created more RISP opportunities, and an equal amount of frustration. Gastelum relieved Mathews in the fifth inning and sawed through the Reds hitter in eleven pitches. In the sixth, three Cardinals strike out against the Reds reliever Mey.
The decisive and bitter end
In the seventh, a Herrera walk (again) and a Walker single creates more RISP opportunities, and more futility. Soriano dispatches the Red in the bottom of the 7th. A dying quail from Winn turns into a single when it lands in no man’s land to end his 0-18 skid, but alas nothing comes of it. Stanek enters for the eighth. He gives up a two out double but gets out with a nifty 1u putout. Don’t see that every day. Since many have appeared to have skipped PFP recently, Stanek fielded a tapper and ran the ball to first base for the final out of the inning. No hijinks possible!
Riley O’Brien took the mound for the save opportunity. He opened with a three-pitch strikeout of Cardinal nemesis E. Suarez. Myers K’s after an eight-pitch AB (same guy that hit a HR on pitch 11 off Mathews). Toglia with the backwards K to close the game out. ROB was very sharp!
Post-Game Notes
- No Today on the Farm article … Monday is a quiet day in MiLB.
- The teams pick back up again in a few hours.
- Gastelum, Graceffo, Soriano, Stanek and O’Brien each pitched an inning. Pitch counts were mostly low and likely that some of these guys could pitch again in the nightcap.