Saturday’s Game Report: Twins 8, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
The inconsistency of some of the Cardinals’ starting pitchers was one of the reasons they went out and acquired veterans J.A. Happ and Jon Lester before Friday’s trading deadline.
A case in point was on the mound on Saturday night at Busch Stadium.
Jake Woodford was making his third start of the season. In the first, on July 19, he allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings. In his second start five days later, Woodford gave up three runs over five innings. His start on Saturday night was a struggle from the first pitch and he could only last through three innings.
Woodford allowed two runs in the first inning and five in the third, the big blow a three-run homer, as the Twins cruised past the Cardinals.
With the additions to the rotation, Woodford likely will either go back to the bullpen or perhaps the Cardinals will decide to keep him working as a starter at Triple A Memphis.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The team’s best hitter in July, Harrison Bader, drove in their only run on the night with an RBI single in the fourth. Three of their five hits in the game came in that inning … Nolan Arenado and Yadier Molina each had two hits before coming out of the game early because of the lopsided score … Bader ended July with a .357 average (30-of-84) with a team-leading 18 RBIs … The Cardinals struck out 14 times in the game, three each by Paul DeJong and Harrison Bader, to match their most in a game this season.
On the mound: Woodford gave up seven hits and the seven runs in his three innings of work. The two runs he gave up in the first inning were unearned because of a fielding error by Arenado … T.J. McFarland allowed a run in the fifth before Andrew Miller, Luis Garcia and Justin Miller allowed a total of two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.
Key stat: The Cardinals ended July with a 12-11 record for the month, dropping back to .500 (52-52) for the season. They scored 96 runs in the month and allowed 95.
Worth noting: Johan Oviedo, also likely now to remain in Memphis, got the start for the Redbirds on Saturday night and took the loss to Gwinett. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out four over five innings, throwing 84 pitches … The Cardinals plan to set their rotation for the next week after Lester joins the team on Sunday. It’s likely Happ, Lester and Kwang Hyun Kim will get the starts in the series against the Braves that begins on Tuesday night.
Looking ahead: Adam Wainwright will start on Sunday in the final game against the Twins.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
To hear Mike Shildt’s post-game interview, click on the audio player below:
