Monday’s Game Report: Cardinals 9, Diamondbacks 7
Paul Goldschmidt had plenty to smile about Monday night as he returned to Arizona for the first time since he was traded to the Cardinals last winter.
Honored in a video tribute and given a standing ovation by the fans before his first at-bat, Goldschmidt hit one of four home runs for the Cardinals in the win over the Diamondbacks.
The win reduced the Cardinals magic number to three to win the NL Central. The Brewers, who now trail the Cardinals by 3 ½ games, were idle on Monday.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Cardinals, equaling their longest winning streak of the season, and was their 90th win of the season and improved their record to 23 games over .500. They have five games left in the regular-season.
Despite having his worst start of the month, Adam Wainwright improved his September record to 5-0.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s 32nd homer of the year came in the third inning, a two-run shot, and followed a home run by Tommy Edman, his 11th, in the first … Yadier Molina’s two-run homer in the fifth was his 10th of the season, and Harrison Bader hit his 11th of the season in the eighth … Molina finished with four RBIs, also driving in a run with a ground out in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the ninth … Molina’s home run gave the Cardinals 11 players with 10 or more home runs this season, the first time they have done that in franchise history … Dexter Fowler was 0-of-5 and struck out four times and Paul DeJong was 0-of-4 with three strikeouts.
On the mound: Wainwright had allowed only two runs, one earned, in his first four starts in September but gave up five runs against the Diamondbacks in five innings. Three of the runs scored in the fifth, when Wainwright issued a one-out walk before allowing four consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly … After pitching a 1-2-3 eighth, John Brebbia started the ninth by allowing a home run and a walk before Carlos Martinez relieved and allowed one run before closing out the win and earning his 24th save.
Key stat: The four home runs increased the Cardinals’ total for the season to 201, four shy of their total in 2018. It’s the first time in franchise history they have hit 200 or more home runs in consecutive seasons.
Worth noting: This is the second time Wainwright has been 5-0 in September. He also was 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in September of 2014. The five runs he allowed on Monday night raised his ERA for this month from 0.33 to 1.69 (six earned runs in 32 innings) … Kolten Wong did not accompany the team to Arizona, preferring to return to St. Louis from Chicago to get more treatment on his injured hamstring. He is hopeful he will be able to play this weekend against the Cubs.
Looking ahead: Jack Flaherty will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series. The Brewers will begin a three-game series in Cincinnati.
