Monday’s Game Report: Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 3
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals needed a win. Paul Goldschmidt was desperate for a big hit. So too was Nolan Gorman.
On a night that maybe will snap the team out of its offensive malaise, the team went 3-of-3 on Monday night against the Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
Goldschmidt hit his first home run since his second at-bat of the season to pull the Cardinals into a tie in the seventh inning.
That turned out to be the warmup act for the night as Gorman, with a batting average even lower than Goldschmidt, delivered a two-run blast on the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning, giving the Cardinals the walkoff win.
The win snapped a season-high four-game losing streak for the Cardinals, who spotted the Diamondbacks an early 3-0 advantage before a two-run single by Lars Nootbaar in the sixth narrowed the lead to 3-2.
Goldschmidt’s homer was the first by the Cardinals in more than eight games, since April 12, a streak of 301 at-bats.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals did not get their first baserunner until Nolan Arenado singled leading off the fifth. In the sixth, they took advantage of three consecutive walks to load the bases before Nootbaar delivered the one-out hit, the first RBI on a hit for the Cardinals in 21 innings … Goldschmidt had not had an extra base hit in 78 at-bats when he led off the seventh with the game-tying homer … In the ninth, Goldschmidt beat out a high chopper to third leading off the inning and Gorman, who had entered the game in a defensive switch in eighth, hit the first pitch he saw into the seats in right field. It was the first walkoff homer of his career.
On the mound: Lance Lynn gave up two runs in the second inning but got out of a bases-loaded jam without further damage, then gave up another run in the fifth. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven over his five innings of work … Relievers Ryan Fernandez, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero did not allow a runner to get to second base over the next three innings, allowing only one hit and one walk, before Ryan Helsley came into the tie game in the ninth and pitched around a leadoff single.
Key stat: Gorman snapped a streak of 34 at-bats without a home run or an RBI.
Worth noting: Willson Contreras was hitless in four at-bats, snapping his career-high 14-game hitting streak … Goldschmidt had only had one game with two hits since getting three hits on opening day … The win improved the Cardinals record at Busch Stadium to 4-6. They had lost six of their last seven games at home … Dylan Carlson, recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in the next-to-last day of spring training, took batting practice on the field for the first time since injury before Monday night’s game.
Looking ahead: Steven Matz will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
