Wednesday’s Game Report: Astros 10, Cardinals 7
By Rob Rains
Leading 7-5 going to the eighth inning on Wednesday night, the Cardinals gave the ball to Giovanny Gallegos, asking him to preserve the lead over the Astros for an inning.
Instead, Gallegos walked off the mound after getting only two outs in the inning, equaling the number of home runs he allowed, as the Astros scored five runs to wipe out the deficit and defeat the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Gallegos gave up a single and walk before Jose Altuve connected on a three-run homer that put the Astros in front. After the second out, Gallegos gave up a double and a home run to Jose Abreu that increased the lead to 10-7.
The two home runs increased the total allowed by Gallegos to five in nine games, covering nine innings, this month. The five runs were the most he has ever allowed in a game.
Coming into the game Gallegos had allowed only one earned run in the eighth inning over 11 innings, giving up only four hits in 36 at-bats.
Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals got a three-run homer from Nolan Arenado in a four-run first inning that wiped out a 3-0 Houston lead before a home run from Paul Goldschmidt in the second increased the lead to 5-3 … Goldschmidt added an RBI single in the fourth to make it a 6-3 game, and after the Astros got two of those runs back, Brendan Donovan homered in the sixth to make it a 7-5 game … Goldschmidt had three of the Cardinals’ 11 hits.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas allowed the three runs in the first, increasing his total for the year to 16 runs in the opening inning in his 17 starts. He didn’t give up another run until he retired the first two hitters in the sixth, then gave up a double, walk and another double … Andre Pallante walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases before getting an inning-ending strikeout … After Chris Stratton worked a perfect seventh, Gallegos then allowed five of the seven hitters he faced to reach base and all scored … The Cardinals combined to walk eight batters and hit another, and three of them ended up scoring.
Key stat: It was the 16th blown save for the Cardinals this season, tied with the White Sox and Nationals for the most in the majors. It matches their total for all of 2022.
Worth noting: Arenado had to come out of the game in the fifth inning because of lower back tightness … This was the first time this season Arenado and Goldschmidt have homered in the same game … Paul DeJong had started the last 21 games at shortstop but wasn’t in the starting lineup as Tommy Edman moved back to the infield as the Cardinals stacked their lineup with lefthanded hitters. DeJong later entered the game to replace Arenado … Ryan Helsley is expected to begin a throwing program before the end of the week but there is no timetable yet for when he will be able to rejoin the Cardinals’ bullpen … Victor Scott II made his Double A debut for Springfield on Wednesday night and was 1-of-4, also collecting his 51st stolen base of the season.
Looking ahead: Adam Wainwright will try to bounce back from his worst start of the season when he starts the series finale against the Astros on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
