Mathews Earns First MLB Win as Cardinals Beat Pirates
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Mathews Earns First MLB Win as Cardinals Beat Pirates
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
ST. LOUIS — Quinn Mathews’ first start at Busch Stadium became the first win of his major league career.
Mathews allowed one run over 5.2 innings, Jimmy Crooks hit a two-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, Friday night at Busch Stadium.
It was a needed win for the Cardinals, who opened the weekend series with a cleaner game after several difficult losses over the past week. Mathews gave St. Louis the kind of start it needed, the defense played cleanly behind him, and the bullpen finished the final 3.1 innings without letting the Pirates back into the game.
Mathews, making his fourth major league start and first at home, allowed five hits, walked one and struck out seven. He threw 102 pitches, 63 for strikes, and worked through the Pirates’ lineup with enough swing-and-miss to keep Pittsburgh from building much pressure.
The left-hander had made his first three starts on the road, so Friday carried a different feel. A first home start is one thing. A first major league win at Busch Stadium is something else.
The Cardinals gave him the lead in the third inning.
Nolan Gorman doubled to deep center and moved to third on an error by Oneil Cruz. Crooks followed with a two-run homer to right, putting St. Louis ahead, 2-0. The swing gave Mathews a cushion and gave the Cardinals an early answer in a game that had been scoreless through the first two innings.
St. Louis added another run in the fourth. Jordan Walker singled, José Fermín followed with a base hit, and Nathan Church lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Walker and make it 3-0. Joshua Báez later doubled and Gorman walked to load the bases, but the Cardinals could not add on.
Pittsburgh’s only run came in the fifth. Jake Mangum was hit by a pitch, Nick Yorke singled, and Jared Triolo brought Mangum home with a single to left. Mathews limited the damage by striking out Liover Peguero to end the inning, keeping the Cardinals in front, 3-1.
That was the key moment in his outing. The Pirates had cut the lead to two and had traffic on the bases, but Mathews got the strikeout he needed and kept the game from tightening any further.
He came back out for the sixth and struck out Bryan Reynolds and Cruz before Nick Gonzales singled. Oliver Marmol went to the bullpen, and Ryan Fernandez struck out Rafael Flores to end the inning.
Fernandez stayed on and gave the Cardinals important outs in relief. Caleb Ferguson also helped bridge the game, and Stanek handled the ninth for his second save of the season. The bullpen protected the lead, and unlike several recent nights, the Cardinals did not let the game turn late.
St. Louis added an insurance run in the eighth, pushing the lead to 4-1 and giving Stanek a three-run cushion for the ninth.
Walker finished with three hits and scored a run, continuing to be one of the more consistent bats in the Cardinals’ lineup. Fermín added two hits, Báez doubled, Gorman doubled and walked, and Crooks supplied the biggest swing with his two-run homer.
The Cardinals did not have a huge offensive night, but they did enough. They scored first, added on, and gave their pitching staff room to operate.
That has not always happened lately.
The larger story was Mathews.
He has had to learn on the job at the major league level, and there have been moments where the command and pitch count have worked against him. Friday was a step forward. He missed bats, limited damage and handled his first home start with the poise the Cardinals needed.
For a club trying to find something steady in the final month, a young starter earning his first major league win at Busch Stadium is more than a nice note. It is something to build from.
There was also a larger rookie note around the league Friday night. Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart hit his 29th home run and reached 101 RBIs, leaving him one homer shy of joining the 30-homer, 100-RBI rookie club.
That is elite company.
The list includes Pete Alonso, Aaron Judge, José Abreu, Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Ron Kittle, Walt Dropo, Al Rosen, Ted Williams, Rudy York, Hal Trosky and Wally Berger. It is a reminder that old-school production still carries weight, especially this deep into a Rookie of the Year conversation.
But Friday night at Busch Stadium belonged to Mathews.
First home start.
First major league win.
A clean finish from the bullpen.
Cardinals 4, Pirates 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.
Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary:
www.cardinalchronicle.com
Photo Credit: Quinn Mathews, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB