Nootbaar’s Late Blast Lifts Cardinals to 18th Comeback Win

The Cardinal Chronicle
Nootbaar’s Late Blast Lifts Cardinals to 18th Comeback Win
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a habit of playing from behind this season.

That is not always the cleanest way to live, but right now, it is becoming part of their identity.

On Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals rallied again, turning a late deficit into a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. It was St. Louis’ 18th comeback victory of the season, and this one came with a little extra noise, thanks to Lars Nootbaar.

In just his second game back after returning from dual heel surgeries, Nootbaar delivered the swing of the day — and maybe one of the loudest swings of the Cardinals’ season so far. With the Cardinals trailing late and José Fermín aboard as a pinch-runner, Nootbaar drove a two-run home run to right-center field in the bottom of the eighth inning, flipping the game and sending Busch Stadium into the kind of roar that had been waiting months for him.

Just like that, a 5-4 deficit became a 6-5 Cardinals lead.

And this time, it held.

The victory gave St. Louis back-to-back wins over Cincinnati after Friday night’s 10-3 rout, but the two games could not have looked much different. On Friday, the Cardinals buried the Reds with a big inning and kept pouring on. On Saturday, they had to scratch, answer, wait, and finally land the big blow late.

That is not a bad sign for a club trying to prove it can win in more than one gear.

The Cardinals struck first in front of the home crowd when Victor Scott II delivered an RBI single against Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo, giving St. Louis an early lead. Cincinnati answered, however, and the game settled into the kind of divisional back-and-forth that rarely looks comfortable from either dugout.

The Reds pushed ahead and kept pressure on the Cardinals, but St. Louis stayed close enough to make one swing matter.

Jordan Walker helped make sure of that.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Walker continued his power surge by driving a solo home run to right-center field, his 16th homer of the season. The blast pulled the Cardinals within a run at 3-2 and added another chapter to what is starting to look like a true breakout stretch for the young right fielder.

Walker has been doing more than just flashing tools. He has been changing games. The raw ability has always been there, but now the production is beginning to match the promise on a more consistent basis. For a Cardinals lineup that badly needed a middle-of-the-order force, Walker is becoming exactly that.

But Saturday belonged to Nootbaar late.

There are comeback wins, and then there are comeback wins that feel like they carry a little more meaning. Nootbaar’s return already gave the Cardinals’ lineup a different look. His presence lengthens the order, brings patience, brings energy, and gives Oliver Marmol another hitter who can change an at-bat without chasing the pitcher’s plan.

On Saturday, he changed the game.

After missing the first two months of the season while recovering from surgery on both heels, Nootbaar did not need much time to remind everyone what he can bring. The swing in the eighth was not just a nice welcome-back moment. It was a high-leverage, game-turning home run in a division game against a team the Cardinals are trying to keep underneath them.

That is not easing back in.

That is kicking the door open.

The bullpen took it from there, protecting the one-run lead in the ninth and finishing off another narrow win. For a team that has already spent much of this season testing the blood pressure of its fan base, Saturday was another reminder that these Cardinals do not seem especially bothered by late deficits.

They may not always make it easy, but they do not go quietly.

The final margin was thin. The importance was not.

The Cardinals improved to 34-28 with the win and continued building momentum in the NL Central race. After taking the series opener in convincing fashion, Saturday’s victory secured at least a series win over the Reds and gave St. Louis another example of the resilience that has helped define the first two-plus months of the season.

There will be plenty to clean up. Falling behind is not a long-term strategy, and living on late lightning can wear out a ballclub over 162 games. But comeback wins also say something about the room. They say the dugout still believes. They say the lineup keeps grinding. They say the game is not over just because the scoreboard gets uncomfortable.

Saturday’s game said all of that.

It also said something else.

Lars Nootbaar is back.

And for the Cardinals, his timing could not have been much better.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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Photo Credit: Lars Nootbarr, St. Louis Cardinals | Jeff Curry, USA Today Sports