Crooks Lifts Cards over Braves 2-1, After Rain Delay

Cardinals 2, Braves 1
Crooks Lifts Cardinals After Rain Delay

The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals waited out the rain, waited out Atlanta’s pitching, and then waited for one big swing.

Jimmy Crooks finally gave it to them.

Crooks launched a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning Friday night at Busch Stadium, lifting the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in a rain-delayed series opener that dragged deep into the night before ending with St. Louis back in the win column.

It was not the loudest offensive night. It was not a clean, comfortable win. It was not even close to a normal baseball game after a long weather delay stopped play and turned the evening into one of those strange summer nights where the ballpark feels half-asleep and half-wired.

But for the Cardinals, after the way the Milwaukee series ended, it was exactly what they needed.

A win.

The Cardinals entered the night needing to turn the page after dropping four of five to the Brewers. They did not need style points. They did not need a crooked number. They needed a starter to keep them in it, a bullpen to hold the line, and somebody to deliver late.

That somebody was Crooks.

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Crooks led off against Atlanta left-hander Danny Young and drove a ball to center field. It carried 405 feet and cleared the wall for his second home run of the season, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the night.

In a game where runs were almost impossible to find, Crooks’ swing felt bigger than one run.

It was the difference.

The night began as a pitcher’s duel between Kyle Leahy and Chris Sale. Leahy gave the Cardinals three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two and walking none. Sale matched him with three scoreless innings for Atlanta, striking out five and allowing only two hits before the rain changed the entire shape of the game.

Once the delay hit, both starters were finished. From there, it became a bullpen game.

And on this night, the Cardinals’ bullpen answered.

George Soriano took over after the delay and kept Atlanta quiet in the fourth before the Braves finally broke through in the fifth. Mike Yastrzemski doubled to right, and Austin Riley followed with a single to center to score him, giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead.

That was all the Braves would get.

Justin Bruihl came in after Riley’s RBI single and stopped the inning from getting worse. That mattered. In a low-scoring game, one more Atlanta run could have changed everything.

The Cardinals finally answered in the sixth.

JJ Wetherholt drew a walk, and Iván Herrera followed with a single to right. Jordan Walker then delivered one of the biggest at-bats of the night, sending a single to right field to score Wetherholt and tie the game 1-1.

Walker did not have to hit the ball 450 feet for that swing to matter. He needed to put the ball in play, drive in the runner, and get the Cardinals even.

He did exactly that.

The game stayed tied into the eighth because the Cardinals’ relief corps kept doing its job. Ryne Stanek worked a scoreless seventh. JoJo Romero handled a perfect eighth, striking out one, and earned the win. Then Crooks changed the game in the bottom half.

That left the ninth to Riley O’Brien.

O’Brien did not mess around.

He struck out Matt Olson, got Drake Baldwin to fly out to center, then struck out Mauricio Dubón to finish it. Three up, three down. Two strikeouts. Save No. 23.

After several recent games that seemed to come with a warning label for anyone with high blood pressure, this ninth inning was a welcome change.

Clean. Quick. Done.

The Cardinals finished with only five hits, but they made enough of them count. Herrera had two singles. Walker drove in the tying run. Blaze Jordan added a ground-rule double. Crooks supplied the game-winner.

Atlanta managed just three hits all night.

That tells the story.

The Braves are a good club, and they came into St. Louis with the kind of pitching staff that can make any lineup look uncomfortable. Sale was sharp before the delay. Atlanta’s bullpen held the Cardinals in check for most of the night. But the Cardinals stayed close, kept grinding, and found one swing late.

That has to be the takeaway.

After the Brewers series, the Cardinals did not need to explain anything. They needed to respond.

They did.

It took rain, patience, bullpen work, and a rookie catcher’s eighth-inning blast.

But the Cardinals beat the Braves, 2-1.

And after a long night at Busch Stadium, that was enough.

Key Storylines

Crooks Delivers the Winner

Jimmy Crooks gave the Cardinals the lead with a solo home run in the eighth inning, driving a 405-foot shot to center field off Danny Young. It was his second homer of the season and the swing that decided the game.

Walker Ties It

Jordan Walker came through in the sixth inning with an RBI single to right, scoring JJ Wetherholt and tying the game 1-1. In a game where offense was hard to come by, Walker’s at-bat was a major moment.

Leahy Gives the Cardinals a Strong Start

Kyle Leahy threw three scoreless innings before the rain delay ended his night. He allowed one hit, struck out two, and gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed before the game turned into a bullpen test.

The Bullpen Holds the Line

George Soriano, Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien combined to cover the final six innings. Atlanta scored once in the fifth, but the Cardinals’ bullpen did not let the game get away.

O’Brien Closes It Clean

Riley O’Brien handled the ninth inning with authority, retiring the Braves in order and striking out two. It was his 23rd save of the season and one of the cleaner finishes the Cardinals have had lately.

Rain Changes the Game

The long rain delay knocked both starters out early and forced each team into its bullpen. That kind of game can get messy fast, but the Cardinals handled it better and found the late swing they needed.

A Needed Response

After dropping four of five to Milwaukee, the Cardinals needed to open the Atlanta series with a win. This one did not come easily, but it stopped the slide and gave St. Louis a chance to build something before the All-Star break.

Bottom Line
The Cardinals did not light up the scoreboard Friday night.

They did something better.

They stayed in the game, got strong work from the bullpen, tied it with Jordan Walker’s bat, won it with Jimmy Crooks’ swing, and closed it cleanly with Riley O’Brien.

Cardinals 2, Braves 1.

That’s a winner.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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Photo Credit: Jimmy Crooks, St. Louis Cardinals | Field Level Media