Cardinals Drop Finale in Extras

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinals Drop Finale in Extras
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to take the series Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Instead, they let another winnable game slip into extra innings, and the Cincinnati Reds made them pay.

The Reds beat the Cardinals, 5-3, in 10 innings, taking the rubber game of the weekend series and handing St. Louis a frustrating loss on a day when Kyle Leahy gave his club more than enough to win.

That is what makes this one sting.

Leahy did his job. The Cardinals had the lead twice. The bullpen held Cincinnati in check for three innings after Leahy exited. The offense had chances late.

But when the game moved into the 10th, Cincinnati cashed in and St. Louis did not have enough left to answer.

The Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Alec Burleson led off with a double, and Masyn Winn followed with a single to put runners at the corners with nobody out. José Fermín then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Burleson and giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

It was the kind of simple baseball play that wins close games.

For a while, it looked like that early run might set the tone. Leahy opened the game strong, attacked the Reds’ lineup, and kept Cincinnati from building much of anything early.

But Elly De La Cruz changed that in the third inning.

De La Cruz turned on a slider and launched a solo home run, tying the game at 1-1. It was a reminder of how quickly Cincinnati can change a game with one swing, especially when De La Cruz gets something he can drive.

The Cardinals answered right back in the bottom of the third.

Iván Herrera jumped on a sweeper and sent it over the wall for a solo home run, giving St. Louis the lead again at 2-1. Herrera’s swing gave the Cardinals some life and put Leahy back in front.

Leahy carried that lead into the fifth before Ke’Bryan Hayes tied the game with a solo homer of his own. The blast made it 2-2, but it was the last damage Leahy allowed.

From there, the Cardinals’ starter finished strong.

Leahy worked six innings, allowed two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out a career-high nine. He gave the Cardinals a quality start, kept the bullpen from being exposed too early, and did everything a club should ask from a starting pitcher in a series finale.

The problem was the Cardinals’ offense could not give him more.

St. Louis had chances, but the big hit never came.

The Cardinals had a real opportunity in the seventh after Lars Nootbaar drew a leadoff walk. Blaze Jordan flew out to deep center, Bryan Torres moved Nootbaar into scoring position with a groundout, but JJ Wetherholt grounded out to first to end the inning.

That one hurt.

The eighth hurt even more.

Burleson singled with two outs, Winn followed with a single up the middle, and Fermín reached after the Cardinals successfully challenged catcher’s interference to load the bases. That brought Nootbaar to the plate with a chance to put St. Louis in front.

He flew out to left.

The game remained tied.

Those are the moments that decide games like this. Not always the loudest moments. Not always the ones that make the highlight reel. But bases loaded, two outs, tie game in the eighth inning at home — that is where a team has to cash in.

The Cardinals did not.

The bullpen gave St. Louis a chance anyway. Luis Gastelum worked a scoreless seventh. Ryne Stanek handled a clean eighth. George Soriano took the ninth and kept Cincinnati off the board, giving the Cardinals a chance to win it in the bottom half.

They could not.

Blaze Jordan grounded out. Jimmy Crooks struck out. Wetherholt struck out.

So the game went to the 10th.

That is where it came apart.

With Tyler Stephenson starting the inning at second as the automatic runner, he moved to third almost immediately on a wild pitch. Sal Stewart then singled to right, scoring Stephenson and giving Cincinnati a 3-2 lead.

Elly De La Cruz followed with a single, and the Reds moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. The Cardinals turned to Justin Bruihl, and after a strikeout and an intentional walk, Nathaniel Lowe delivered the backbreaker.

Lowe singled to right, scoring two runs and stretching Cincinnati’s lead to 5-2.

That was the difference.

The Cardinals did not go quietly in the bottom of the 10th. Herrera singled to move automatic runner JJ Wetherholt to third, and Burleson followed with a soft single to left, scoring Wetherholt and cutting the deficit to 5-3.

That brought the tying run to the plate.

But Winn struck out, and Fermín flew out to left to end it.

The Cardinals had their shot. They had several of them.

They just did not finish.

Cincinnati took the series, and St. Louis was left with another one of those losses that feels avoidable. Leahy gave them six strong innings. Herrera homered. Burleson had a strong offensive day. The bullpen held until extra innings.

But the Cardinals went 10 innings and managed only three runs. They left too many chances on the table, and in the 10th, the Reds made the Cardinals pay for every one of them.

This is the kind of game that exposes the thin line this club keeps walking.

One night, the Cardinals can shut down the Reds, score seven, and make everything look clean. The next day, they can waste a strong start, miss their late chances, and watch the series slip away in extras.

That is not how a team builds momentum.

Now the Cardinals turn toward a crucial four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. There is no easing into it. There is no soft landing. If the Cardinals want to stay in the postseason conversation, they cannot keep letting games like Sunday get away.

Kyle Leahy gave them enough.

The offense did not.

And in the 10th, the Reds took what the Cardinals left sitting there.

Luis Gastelum, Ryne Stanek and George Soriano kept the Reds scoreless from the seventh through the ninth, but the 10th inning got away from Matt Svanson and Justin Bruihl.

The Cardinals had a chance to take the weekend series after Saturday’s shutout win, but Cincinnati claimed the finale and left St. Louis with the series victory.

The bottom line, the Cardinals had chances.

Kyle Leahy gave them six strong innings. Iván Herrera homered. Alec Burleson produced. The bullpen carried the tie into extra innings.

But St. Louis missed its late opportunities, Cincinnati capitalized in the 10th, and the Reds left Busch Stadium with a 5-3 win and the series.

For the Cardinals, this was a winnable game.

And that is exactly why it hurts.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB