Thursday’s Game Report: Cardinals 6, Giants 5
By Rob Rains
Brendan Donovan was always going to remember Thursday night’s game, the tribute to the Negro Leagues and especially a salute to the late Hall of Famer Willie Mays.
Donovan’s memory of the game at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., however, will be much sweeter because of his performance.
Playing his first professional game in his home state of Alabama, where he grew up before going to college at South Alabama, Donovan’s two-run homer in the first inning set the tone for the Cardinals as they beat the Giants.
The homer was the first of Donovan’s three hits in the game as he added a double in the third inning and then drove in his third run with a single in the fifth.
Donovan lost his chance to hit for the cycle when he was called out on strikes in the eighth.
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Donovan’s homer, his seventh of the season, capped a three-run first inning for the Cardinals. Masyn Winn drew a leadoff walk, went to third on a single by Alec Burleson and scored on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Gorman in front of Donovan’s homer … Gorman added a second sacrifice fly in the third, when Burleson also scored his second run on a wild pitch … Burleson scored for a third time, with what proved to be the winning run, after he was hit by a pitch in the fifth, advanced on a single by Paul Goldschmidt and scored on Donovan’s single … Donovan and Gorman are now tied for the team lead with 36 RBIs this season.
On the mound: Andre Pallante pitched into the sixth ining. He gave up a game-tying three-run homer in the third, then left with two runners on base in the sixth and was charged with those two runs as well after both runs scored while Andrew Kittredge was on the mound … Adam Kloffenstein, recalled from Memphis before the game, worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning in his major-league debut … Ryan Helsley allowed a leadoff walk and a two-out single in the ninth before nailing down his 25th consecutive save, setting a franchise record.
Key stat: This was the Cardinals fifth consecutive game decided by one run. They have gone 3-2 in those games and are 13-11 in one-run games this season.
Worth noting: Kloffenstein took the place of Chris Roycroft, who was optioned to Memphis so the Cardinals could add a fresh arm for the bullpen … Victor Scott II also was promoted to serve as the 27th man and played left field in the ninth inning … Brandon Crawford made the first start of his career at third base as Nolan Arenado was kept out of the lineup a night after he was hit by a pitch on his right elbow … The Springfield Cardinals completed the first no-hitter in franchise history on Thursday night. Cooper Hjerpe pitched the first five innings and Andrew Marrero the final two in the seven-inning game at Corpus Christi … Jordan Walker went 3-of-4 for Memphis, including his third home run, while Willson Contreras was 1-of-3, serving as the DH … To replace Kloffenstein at Memphis, Ian Bedell was promoted from Springfield.
Looking ahead: The two teams will have the day off on Friday before resuming this series on Saturday at Busch Stadium. Miles Mikolas will start for the Cardinals. Former Cardinal Jordan Hicks is set to start for the Giants in the 1:15 p.m. game.
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