Game Result
The Cardinal offense stirred a bit against a lefty (Gomber), with Nootbaar and Burleson hitting home-runs. After building a 5-2 lead, they couldn’t extend and Romero ended up giving up a 2-run HR in the ninth to seal their fate.
Pre-game Notes
- Rain has been a factor the last two nights. Lots of water coming out of the sky, apparently.
- Contreras got HBP again last night. Lots of bruises for that hitter.
- We have a day game. We have a lefty. It is a getaway game (for the Rox). Should be a quick game.
- Cardinals look to win their third series in a row.
Line-up (and roster) Machinations
- The Cardinals will start Michael McGreevy. The Rockies counter with yet another lefty, old friend Austin Gomber. He is winless so far this season.
- Herrera in left today.
- Winn batting 3rd.
- Burly at first, Gorman at DH. Contreras rests his bruises.
- Noot in Center. Herrera, Noot, Walker. That is quite an outfield.
- Sags at third. He is starting to see more playing time.
The Game
An inning-by-inning breakdown, with score card entries and observations along the way. This format is one I usually apply to day games during the week, with a bit more detail as I suspect people can’t readily
listen or watch. It’s the benefit of being retired.
T1 – Quick start. 5-3. 3u. K. McGreevy had a couple of FB up at 95.
B1 – Donovan 3u. Herrera singles. Winn backwards K, as Herrera swipes 2B. Burly out 1-3.
T2 – Single. Looked like McGreevy picked off the runner, but ruled safe on the field and the Cardinals lost their challenge for the day. Pages promptly threw him out stealing the next pitch. 5-3 on a nice place by Sags. F7 that turns into F8 when Nootbaar cuts in front of a waiting Herrera to put it away. Trust is a real thing on the diamond.
B2 – Gorman F8. Walker take a FB down the middle for a backwards K. To be fair, I think it was Gomber’s first pitch over 90 mph, so he had to be looking off-speed. I hope when he gets more comfortable defending against those off-the-plate two strike breaking balls, he can become more of a read-and-react hitter instead of a guess-hitter. As a read-and-react hitter, I’d suspect his bat speed would become a real asset. Nootbaar singles. Saggese singles. Pages with a 2-run double. 3 of Cardinals’ first 4 hits come from the RH hitters. Go figure. Donovan F7 to end the inning. Cardinals up 2-0.
T3 – 4-3. K. F9. McGreevy at a tidy 33 pitches.
B3 – Herrera 1-3. Winn walks. I profiled him here last Saturday, if you missed it. Burleson singles. Gorman pops out P4. Walker drills a line drive (101 mph), but caught. L7. Starting to see a bit more red on his Statcast slider bars.
T4 – Single. Another single. Both close misses by infielders. A third consecutive hit brings home a run for the Rox. 6-4-3 GIDP really helps things. F8 allows McGreevy to bring order back. Cards now up 2-1.
B4 – Nootbaar gets the run back quickly with a lead-off HR. Off a lefty! Sags F9. Pages with a single. Donovan F8. Herrera hits into 4-6 force to end the inning. Cardinals back up by two, 3-1.
T5 – Single. That makes 4 of last 6 batters reaching safely on McGreevy. Another single. 5-7 is a warning flag, no? Ground out to second plates a run. L6. That was tagged. 4-3 ends the threat. Cardinals now up 3-2.
B5 – Winn singles. Burleson hits 2-run HR. Another off a lefty! On an 0-2 pitch no less. 106 mph. 410 feet. Gorman pops out. Walker out 5-3. Nootbaar out F9. Cardinals now up 5-2.
T6 – Moniak leads off the inning with a HR. 4-3 on a nice play by Donovan. Rox have five of the hardest hit balls this game, so far. Burleson has the other two. F8 ends the inning. Cards now up 5-3.
B6 – Nick Anderson, who was with the Cardinals at the outset of the year, replaces Gomber. Sags L8. Pages L5 Some tagged balls, but outs. Donovan K’s.
T7 – Leahy in for McGreevy. McG ends up with a quality start. 6 IP. 3 R. 2 K. 0 BB. Lead-off double starts trouble early. Wild pitch pushes him to third. A strikeout swinging helps. A SacFly to Nootbaar tightens the game again. The wild pitch results in a run. P8 ends the inning. It is now Cardinals up 5-4.
B7 – Hill in for Anderson. He quickly takes over the leader board in velo. Herrera backwards K. Winn pops out F9. Burly lines out L9. He has had some hard hit balls.
T8 – O’Brien in for Leahy. Scott to CF. Noot to LF. He is greeted with a lead-off single. Let’s see. That is five innings in a row the lead-off hitter reaches. In the previous four, that runner has scored. L7. L7. Those two outcomes reward the defensive switch, for sure. A single extends the inning. Another L7 appears to turn that switch into a game saving decision.
B8 – Herget in for Hill. Gorman K’s. Walker K’s. Nootbaar pops out to SS.
T9 – Romero in for O’Brien. Lead-off walk. That makes 6 consecutive innings the lead-off hitter has reached. Romero FB velo noticeably down, several ticks. Backwards K on a hanging slider. More balls than strikes so far. This isn’t going to end well, is it? Nope. Goodman tags a 2-run HR. And I mean tagged. 436 feet to straight away center. 110 mph. 91 mph sinker right down the pipe. Another K. Then a single, then stolen base. Another K ends the inning. Rockies now up 6-5.
B9 – Vodnik in for Herget. Sags out F7. Pages pops out. Donovan pops out. Game over. Cardinals lose 6-5.
Post-game Notes
- Paid attendance announced at just over 20,500. 20,000 seems to be the floor established by season ticket sales. I wonder what that will look like next year with that 15% price increase and accelerated payment schedule.
- Yankees come in for three games starting Friday. Pallante with the start on Friday.
- The video feed makes it appear that the crowd is more like a spring training crowd.
- Who the heck is Andrew Sojka?
- Matthews, Henderson, Molina and Dutkanych pitch for the affiliates tonight. Something to watch if you like to monitor prospects.
