Wednesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 4, Astros 1
By Rob Rains
Lars Nootbaar knows that his job as the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter is to get on base, and he has done that exceptionally well so far this season.
It doesn’t hurt, however, to occasionally be able to trot around all of the bases after one swing of the bat.
Nootbaar did both on Wednesday, drawing a pair of walks before delivering the biggest hit of the game, a three-run homer in the fifth inning, that sent the Cardinals to the win over the Astros at Busch Stadium.
There has only been one game so far this season when Nootbaar failed to reach base with either a hit or a walk and he has an on-base percentage of .422, thanks to his 15 walks. The home run was his third of the season.
The win completed a 4-2 homestand for the Cardinals with series wins over the Phillies and Astros. They climbed back to the .500 mark at 9-9 for the season.
Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Victor Scott II led off the fifth with a bunt single and after battling back from being down 0-2 in the count, Thomas Saggese singled in front of Nootbaar’s homer over the center field wall, his first since Marc 31 … The Cardinals added another run in the sixth when Jordan Walker and Yohel Pozo singled before Saggese delivered an RBI double … Victor Scott II walked in the eighth and stole his sixth base of the season … Brendan Donovan’s single in the fifth extended his hitting streak to 12 games … Nootbaar’s homer was one of only two hits by the Cardinals in 10 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Steven Matz came out of the bullpen to make his first start of the season and worked five innings, allowing the Astros’ only run. He gave up singles to the first two batters of the game, which led to the run, but then retired the next 15 hitters he faced, striking out five … Ryan Fernandez, Kyle Leahy and Phil Maton each worked a scoreless inning to get the ball to Ryan Helsley for the ninth, who pitched around a one-out walk to earn the save.
Key stat: The home run from Nootbaar was the sixth three-run homer in the Cardinals’ first 18 games of the season. They hit 10 three-run homers all of last year. The Cardinals are tied with the Giants for the most three-run homers in the majors this season.
Worth noting: The Cardinals swapped relievers with Memphis before the game, returning Roddery Munoz to the Triple A club and promoting Matt Svanson to the majors for the first time. Svanson, 26, was acquired from the Blue Jays in a 2023 trade for Paul DeJong … Shortstop Masyn Winn will continue his recovery from back spasms this weekend in St. Louis when the Cardinals head to New York. Winn is expected to rejoin the team when it gets to Atlanta on Monday. He will be eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday.
Up next: The Cardinals will begin a four-game series against the Mets on Thursday night. Andre Pallante is the scheduled starter.
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