Cardinals Strike Early, Hold Off Athletics for 6-4 Road Win
Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Strike Early, Hold Off Athletics for 6-4 Road Win
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals did not waste any time Tuesday night in West Sacramento.
After dropping two straight to close the weekend in San Diego, St. Louis opened its three-game series against the Athletics with a four-run first inning and held on through the late innings for a 6-4 win at Sutter Health Park.
It was not always clean or comfortable, but it was the kind of road win good teams bank in May. The Cardinals improved to 24-17 overall and 14-7 away from Busch Stadium, maintaining the best road record in Major League Baseball. They also avoided their first three-game road losing streak of the season.
J.J. Wetherholt supplied the biggest swing of the night, launching a two-run homer in the sixth inning to give St. Louis breathing room after the Athletics climbed back into the game. Wetherholt finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a walk and his eighth home run of the season.
The Cardinals’ first inning set the tone.
Wetherholt opened the game with a walk against left-hander Jeffrey Springs, and Ivan Herrera followed with a single to right-center. Jordan Walker then drove Wetherholt home with a single to center, giving St. Louis a quick 1-0 lead.
After Alec Burleson struck out and Masyn Winn popped out, José Fermín delivered the swing that changed the inning. Fermín doubled to center, scoring Herrera and Walker to stretch the lead to 3-0. Yohel Pozo followed with a two-out single to center, bringing Fermín home and giving the Cardinals a 4-0 lead before Andre Pallante ever took the mound.
That early cushion mattered.
Pallante worked around traffic in the first, but the Athletics answered in the second. Nick Kurtz singled home Darell Hernaiz, extending his on-base streak to 35 games, and Shea Langeliers followed with a two-run double to deep center. Just like that, St. Louis’ four-run lead had been trimmed to 4-3.
Pallante steadied himself from there. He did not dominate, but he competed, got ground balls, and kept the Cardinals in front. The right-hander went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four. He threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes, and earned the win to improve to 4-3. That is the Pallante line in plain language: not spotless, but sturdy enough.
The game turned again in the sixth.
Nolan Gorman came off the bench and singled for Thomas Saggese. Two batters later, Wetherholt got a pitch from Joel Kuhnel and drove it over the wall in right field. The two-run shot pushed the Cardinals’ lead to 6-3 and proved to be the difference in the game.
St. Louis finished with 10 hits, led by Wetherholt and Herrera with two apiece. Walker drove in his 30th run of the season, Fermín added two RBIs, and Pozo collected his fourth RBI.
The bullpen had to finish the job, and for the most part, it did.
Ryan Stanek worked a scoreless sixth, allowing one walk and striking out one. JoJo Romero handled the seventh with authority, striking out two in a clean inning. George Soriano gave up a solo homer to Langeliers in the eighth — Langeliers’ 12th of the season — but kept the Cardinals in front.
That left the ninth to Riley O’Brien.
O’Brien walked Lawrence Butler to open the inning, giving the Athletics a little life and giving Cardinals fans another late-night reason to lean forward. But the inning turned quickly. Jonah Heim grounded into a double play, and Jeff McNeil grounded out to end it. O’Brien earned his 12th save of the season.
The final line showed the difference clearly enough: Cardinals 6 runs, 10 hits, no errors; Athletics 4 runs, 6 hits, 2 errors.
St. Louis did not put together a runaway win, but it did what winning clubs do on the road. The Cardinals struck first, answered when the game tightened, got enough from the starter, and trusted the bullpen to close the door.
After the long grind through San Diego and now into West Sacramento, this was not one to write home about But it counts the same in the standings, and by mid-May standards, that is plenty.
The Cardinals continue the series Wednesday night, with left-hander Matthew Liberatore scheduled to face right-hander J.T. Ginn. First pitch is set for 8:40 p.m. Central on Cardinals TV and KMOX.
The Cardinal Chronicle in association with Gateway Sports
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