Cardinals Collect 13 Hits but Let Late Game Slip Away Against Texas

 
The Cardinal Chronicle
Rangers 7, Cardinals 4
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Cardinals Collect 13 Hits but Let Late Game Slip Away Against Texas

ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals had traffic all night. They had 13 hits, early chances, a quality offensive push in the middle innings and a starting pitcher who gave them enough to win.

They still walked away with a 7-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

That is the kind of game that leaves a mark. Not because the Cardinals were overmatched, and not because they failed to compete. They did both. But they did not finish enough innings at the plate, and they did not get the late-inning shutdown work needed to keep the game within reach.

Texas scored three runs in the ninth inning against Riley O’Brien, turning a tight one-run game into a much steeper climb. Joc Pederson continued to be a problem for St. Louis, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Josh Jung added two RBIs to give the Rangers the cushion they needed.

The Cardinals struck first in the second inning when Jimmy Crooks delivered an RBI hit, continuing to look comfortable in his early opportunity with St. Louis. Crooks finished with two hits and an RBI, giving the Cardinals another productive night from a young catcher trying to prove he belongs in the conversation.

Nolan Gorman followed with a solo home run in the fourth, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead and a little life from a bat that badly needs something to build on. For Gorman, every ball hit with authority matters right now. The talent has never been the question. The consistency has.

Dustin May gave the Cardinals a strong enough foundation to win the game. The right-hander worked 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out nine. It was not spotless, but it was competitive, and the strikeout total showed the kind of stuff that can still play when he is around the zone and attacking hitters.

Texas began chipping away in the fifth, tied the game, then took the lead before the Cardinals answered back in the seventh. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker helped bring St. Louis even at 4-4, and for a moment it felt like the Cardinals had taken the game back to level ground.

But level ground did not last.

The Rangers pushed ahead late, and the ninth inning decided it. O’Brien, who has been one of the more important arms in the Cardinals bullpen, did not have his cleanest command. Texas took advantage with hard contact, good at-bats and enough pressure to separate the game before Jakob Junis closed it out in the bottom half.

That was the difference. The Cardinals had enough hits to win, but not enough damage. Texas had fewer hits, but made its late ones count.

Nathan Eovaldi did not exactly cruise through the St. Louis lineup. The Cardinals got to him for 11 hits and four runs over six innings, but Eovaldi limited the bigger inning. That was the separator on the pitching side. He bent often. He did not break enough.

The Cardinals also had one of the defensive highlights of the night from Masyn Winn, who continues to make difficult plays look routine. That should not get lost in the loss. Neither should the recognition rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt received before the game, having been named the Sports Info Solutions Defensive Infielder of the Month after leading all second basemen with seven defensive runs saved in May.

But the final story was not defense. It was missed opportunity.

St. Louis fell to 31-28 with the loss and has now dropped the first two games of the series to Texas. The Rangers, meanwhile, continued their strong run and secured the series before Wednesday’s finale.

The Cardinals will try to avoid the sweep Wednesday night, with Andre Pallante scheduled to start against left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

For St. Louis, this was not a lifeless loss. It was more frustrating than that. The Cardinals had baserunners, they had chances, they had the game tied late, and they had their home crowd in it.

Then Texas took the ninth inning, and with it, the game.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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Photo Credit: Maysn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis American