Herrera Homers, Cardinals Hold Off Rockies 3-2

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Herrera Homers, Cardinals Hold Off Rockies 3-2
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals did not make this one easy.

They did make it count.

Behind Iván Herrera’s solo home run, two early sacrifice flies and a pitching staff that kept bending without fully breaking, the Cardinals held off the Colorado Rockies, 3-2, Friday night at Busch Stadium.

It was not a loud offensive night.

It was not a clean runaway against a team the Cardinals needed to beat.

But it was a win.

And for a club trying to steady itself after a messy stretch of baseball, that part matters.

The Cardinals came into the weekend needing to take care of business against Colorado. They had just finished a difficult road swing through Toronto and New York, had played better baseball in the Bronx, and now had a chance to come home and build something against a Rockies club buried near the bottom of the National League West.

They got the first one.

Barely.

Colorado outhit St. Louis, 10-4, but the Cardinals made their early chances stand. The Rockies had traffic throughout the night, especially against Kyle Leahy, but St. Louis limited the damage and protected a one-run lead through the middle and late innings.

That was the game.

Survive the traffic.

Protect the lead.

Get the final out.

Leahy started for the Cardinals and had to work from the beginning. Colorado put runners on base, forced him into traffic, and collected eight hits against him over five innings. But Leahy did not walk a batter, struck out eight and kept the Rockies from turning contact into a big inning.

That was the difference.

It was not a dominant start in the traditional sense. Colorado had too many baserunners for that. But Leahy competed, missed bats when he needed to and kept the game under control long enough for the Cardinals to play from ahead.

The Rockies struck first in the second inning.

TJ Rumfield reached and came around when Troy Johnston grounded out to shortstop, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead. Willi Castro moved to third on the play, but Leahy prevented the inning from getting worse.

That mattered because the Cardinals answered immediately.

Jimmy Crooks singled to get the inning started, and Masyn Winn followed with a double to right, putting runners at second and third. Nathan Church then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Crooks and tying the game, 1-1.

Bryan Torres followed with a sacrifice fly of his own, bringing Winn home and giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

It was not a big inning built on rockets all over the ballpark.

It was situational baseball.

A hit. A double. Two productive outs.

For a team that has wasted plenty of chances lately, that was important.

The Cardinals did not pile up hits Friday night. They were not going to win this game by waiting for a seven-run inning. They had to score when the opportunity was sitting in front of them, and in the second inning, they did exactly that.

Then Herrera added the swing that turned out to decide the game.

Leading off the third inning, Herrera drove a solo home run to left field, his 13th of the season, pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1. It was the only home run of the game for St. Louis and the only extra jolt the offense found after the second inning.

That made it all the more important.

Herrera continues to be one of the more interesting players on this roster. There are fair questions about where he fits defensively long term, but the bat continues to matter. Friday night was another reminder. In a game where the Cardinals managed only four hits, Herrera supplied the one swing that gave the pitching staff just enough cushion.

They needed every bit of it.

Colorado cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth, and once again it was Johnston driving in the run without needing a hit. Rumfield scored on Johnston’s groundout to second, and Castro moved to third. The Rockies had pushed another run across, but Leahy again kept the inning from getting away.

That became the story of his night.

Colorado kept putting the ball in play. Colorado kept finding hits. Colorado kept applying pressure.

Leahy kept the Cardinals in front.

He finished with five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking none and striking out eight. That is not a spotless line, but it was a winning line. On a night when the Cardinals’ offense did not create much after the third inning, Leahy gave them enough.

Ryan Feltner started for Colorado and gave the Rockies 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He walked three, struck out two and gave up Herrera’s homer. Feltner settled in after the early damage, and the Cardinals did not do much against the Rockies’ bullpen.

That is the part that still nags a little.

St. Louis scored three times in the second and third innings, then went quiet. The Cardinals had only four hits on the night. JJ Wetherholt walked but went hitless. Jordan Walker had a hit. Alec Burleson drew a walk but did not do damage. Crooks and Winn helped create the second-inning rally, and Herrera homered.

That was enough Friday.

It will not always be enough.

The Cardinals left seven men on base and did not create much separation after taking the lead. Against better teams, that can catch up with you. Against Colorado, with Leahy and the bullpen able to make pitches, it survived.

The bullpen did its job.

Justin Bruihl followed Leahy with a clean inning. Caleb Ferguson handled his work. Ryan Stanek helped bridge the late innings. The Cardinals’ relievers protected the one-run lead and kept Colorado from finding the hit that would flip the game.

That was not a small thing.

Colorado had already shown it could put pressure on the pitching staff. Jake McCarthy had three hits. Rumfield reached and scored both Rockies runs. Castro had multiple hits. Johnston drove in both Colorado runs. The Rockies were not shut down from a contact standpoint.

They were shut down where it mattered most.

They never got the big inning.

The Cardinals did.

Even if it was only two runs in the second and Herrera’s homer in the third, that proved to be enough.

There is a difference between winning impressively and winning necessarily. Friday fell into the second category. The Cardinals needed to open this series with a win. They needed to avoid giving away a home game against a club they should beat. They needed to get back to .500 and give themselves a chance to build a good weekend at Busch Stadium.

They did all of that.

It was not pretty.

It was useful.

For this version of the Cardinals, useful matters.

The larger picture remains what it has been for weeks. St. Louis needs to stack wins. The Cardinals have spent too much of the season hovering around the edges of contention, unable to fully fall out and unable to fully push forward. A game like Friday is the kind they simply have to win if they are going to keep talking about staying in the fight.

Colorado came in with one of the worst records in the league.

The Cardinals were at home.

The schedule gave them an opportunity.

They took it.

That is the positive.

The caution is that the offense still did not do enough to feel comfortable. Four hits and three runs leaves a thin margin. The Cardinals made the margin stand Friday because the pitching staff handled the pressure. But if this team is going to build any kind of momentum, the lineup has to do more than hope three early runs hold up every night.

Still, this was a win.

Herrera gave the Cardinals the big swing.

Church and Torres delivered productive outs.

Winn helped set the table.

Leahy struck out eight and limited the damage.

The bullpen finished it.

The Rockies had more hits, but the Cardinals had more runs.

That is the only math that mattered Friday night at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals beat the Rockies, 3-2, and opened the weekend series the way they had to.

Not with fireworks.

Not with comfort.

With just enough.

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