Cardinals Take Series in the Bronx
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinals Take Series in the Bronx
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals needed a win after being shut out Tuesday night.
They got one.
It was not loud like Monday’s homer-filled win. It was not clean all the way through. It was not easy.
But it was enough.
The Cardinals beat the New York Yankees, 3-1, Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, using one decisive fifth-inning rally, a strong start from Andre Pallante, and just enough bullpen work to take the rubber game of the three-game series.
That matters.
After opening the series with a 13-7 win, then getting blanked 2-0 the next night, the Cardinals had a chance to leave New York with a series win or another frustrating missed opportunity.
This time, they finished the job.
The game was scoreless through four innings as Pallante and Will Warren traded zeroes. The Cardinals had a few early baserunners, including Nathan Church’s single in the second and Alec Burleson’s double in the fourth, but they could not break through.
Pallante kept the Yankees quiet on the other side. Heliot Ramos doubled in the second, and Austin Wells singled in the third, but New York could not turn either into a run. Pallante worked through traffic, got ground balls when he needed them, and kept the Cardinals in position to strike first.
That strike came in the fifth.
Blaze Jordan opened the inning with a single to right. Bryan Torres followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice, with Jordan retired at second. Jimmy Crooks then singled to right, moving Torres into scoring position and setting the table for JJ Wetherholt.
After César Prieto struck out, Wetherholt came through with the swing of the night.
The Cardinals’ rookie drove a double to deep center field, scoring Torres and Crooks to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
That was the hit the Cardinals could not find Tuesday night.
One night earlier, St. Louis had chances and left Yankee Stadium with nothing on the scoreboard. This time, Wetherholt made sure the opportunity did not get wasted.
Iván Herrera followed with another double to deep center, scoring Wetherholt and pushing the lead to 3-0.
Three runs.
Two doubles.
All with two outs.
That was the ballgame.
It was also a good reminder of how quickly this offense can change a night when it strings together quality at-bats. The Cardinals did not need a home run. They did not need a crooked number built on walks and mistakes. They needed a couple of young hitters to deliver in big spots.
Wetherholt and Herrera did exactly that.
Pallante carried the 3-0 lead into the sixth, but that inning turned into his biggest challenge of the night. Ben Rice walked with one out, and Luis García Jr. followed with another walk after Rice moved to third on a throwing error. With runners at the corners, Oliver Marmol went to George Soriano.
Soriano immediately hit Heliot Ramos with a pitch, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate.
That was the danger point.
Spencer Jones struck out looking for the second out, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. drew a walk to force in Rice and cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1.
The Yankees had life. The bases were still loaded. Yankee Stadium was waiting for one big swing.
Soriano got Ryan McMahon to strike out swinging.
Inning over.
Lead protected.
That was one of the biggest moments of the night. The Cardinals had just enough offense, but they still needed the bullpen to hold the line. Soriano bent in the sixth, but he did not let the game get away.
From there, the Cardinals kept the Yankees from finding the big hit.
Paul Goldschmidt, facing his former club, doubled as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, but Justin Bruihl helped keep the Yankees off the board. Ryne Stanek worked through traffic in the eighth, walking two but escaping without damage.
That set up the ninth.
Riley O’Brien finished it off, giving the Cardinals a much-needed series win in the Bronx.
For Pallante, the final line was strong: 5.1 innings, three hits, one run, three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 103 pitches and held a Yankees lineup that can punish mistakes to just one run.
It was not a dominant start in the traditional sense, but it was a winning start.
He controlled the game, kept the ball in the yard, and gave the Cardinals a chance to win on the road against a good club.
That is what this rotation needs more of.
The Cardinals finished with nine hits, and the production came from several places. Wetherholt drove in two. Herrera drove in one. Church had two hits. Jordan had two hits. Burleson doubled. Crooks doubled late and was part of the fifth-inning rally.
It was not an offensive explosion, but it was more balanced than Tuesday’s shutout and more situationally effective.
That is the key.
The Cardinals did not leave the Bronx because they overwhelmed the Yankees. They left with a series win because they took advantage of the inning that mattered most.
The fifth inning decided the game.
The sixth inning preserved it.
The ninth inning closed it.
After the way the last couple of weeks have gone, the Cardinals needed that kind of win. Not pretty. Not perfect. Just complete enough.
They also needed it because this was a series that could have slipped away. Monday’s 13-run outburst looked like a possible spark. Tuesday’s shutout looked like the same old frustration. Wednesday gave the Cardinals a better ending.
Now they leave New York with two wins in three games.
That does not fix everything.
It does not erase the rough stretch, the missed chances, the deadline questions, or the inconsistency that has followed this club around for too long.
But it gives them something they badly needed.
A road series win.
A good start from Pallante.
A big hit from Wetherholt.
A clean enough finish.
And a reminder that there is still baseball to be played.
The Cardinals’ bullpen had to work through traffic, but it kept the Yankees from finding the tying swing. Soriano, Bruihl, Stanek and O’Brien handled the final innings.
Series Win in New York
After splitting the first two games, the Cardinals took the finale and left Yankee Stadium with a series win. In a stretch where every win matters, that is no small thing.
The Bottom Line
The Cardinals needed a win on the road.
JJ Wetherholt delivered the biggest hit. Iván Herrera added on. Andre Pallante gave St. Louis a strong start, and the bullpen held the Yankees to one run.
Cardinals 3, Yankees 1.
A series win in the Bronx.
That’s a winner.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB