Thursday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Brewers 0
By Rob Rains
Winning two games in a row might not seem like much of a streak but it could be a step in the right direction for the Cardinals.
Nolan Arenado’s single capped a three-run seventh inning that broke up a scoreless duel and gave the Cardinals the win over the Brewers in the series finale Thursday at Busch Stadium.
The win followed a 10-inning victory over the Brewers on Wednesday night thanks to a walk-off grand slam from Arenado.
It’s only the second time this month the Cardinals have won two games in a row as they try to stay alive in the race for the third and final wild-card spot.
After drawing the smallest crowd in Busch Stadium 3’s history on Wednesday night, the crowd of 28,630 on Thursday became the smallest since the stadium opened in 2006.
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals only had three hits through the first six innings, two of them by Victor Scott II … Scott got the seventh inning started with his third hit, a one-out single, and singles by Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson loaded the bases before Willson Contreras drew a bases-loaded walk. Contreras was forced at second on a bloop by Brendan Donovan to center, but it scored the second run before Arenado’s single capped the inning … Burleson reached base four times with two singles and a pair of walks.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas had his best start in two months, allowing only two hits – both in the first inning – over six innings. He allowed only two other baserunners, on a walk and a throwing error by Arenado, but had to settle for a no-decision. He has won only one of his last 10 starts dating back to June 22 … Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley combined to finish off the shutout, with Helsley recording his 39th save,
Key stat: Arenado leads the Cardinals with 23 hits and 15 RBIs in August, the most RBIs he has had in any month this season. Of his 23 hits, 15 (65 percent) have been singles in 73 at-bats, a .315 average.
Worth noting: The only other time the Cardinals won consecutive games this month was on Aug. 6 and 7 against Tampa Bay. The win improved their record for the month to 7-12 … Thursday was a scheduled day off for Paul Goldschmidt, who is hitting just .191 for the month with 12 hits in 62 at-bats … Steven Matz is scheduled to make one more rehab start for Memphis before being activated from the injured list … Michael Siani, out with an oblique injury, could begin a minor-league rehab assignment sometime next week … In addition to the Cardinals’ walk-off win on Wednesday night, their top three minor-league affiliates Memphis, Springfield and Peoria also won in walk-off fashion.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will open a weekend series on Friday night against the Twins in Minnesota. Andre Pallante is the scheduled starter. A reminder that the game will be televised exclusively by Apple TV.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
