Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Brewers 2
By Rob Rains
It was a happy homecoming for the Cardinals.
After losing six of seven games on their road trip to New York and Atlanta, the Cardinals enjoyed a better result in their return to Busch Stadium on Friday night, defeating the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series.
Matthew Liberatore turned in another quality start and Kyle Leahy and Phil Maton worked out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings to help the Cardinals win their first one-run game of the season.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Brendan Donovan drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Gorman … They made it a 3-0 game in the fifth. Lars Nootbaar singled to drive in a run and scored on Donovan’s single as the Cardinals had four consecutive hits in the inning, losing a chance at another run when Willson Contreras was thrown out at the plate … Nootbaar also drew a walk in the first inning, the ninth time he has led off the first inning with a walk this season … Jordan Walker had an infield single in three at-bats, only his second hit in his last 26 at-bats.
On the mound: Liberatore held the Brewers to two hits through the first five innings and retired 13 batters in a row before giving up a run in the sixth. He left the game after Nolan Arenado dropped a foul popup and Sal Frelick doubled in the seventh. Leahy relieved and allowed the inherited run to score but got out of the jam with the lead, stranding two runners … Maton pitched the eighth and gave up two hits but an outstanding play by Arenado to throw out a runner at the plate allowed him to preserve the lead … Ryan Helsley finally got to pitch in a save situation for the first time since April 16. He allowed a leadoff single but then got a double play and a fly out to end the game.
Key stat: The Cardinals were the last team in the majors to win a one-run game this season. They had been 0-5 in one-run games prior to Friday night.
Worth noting: The Cardinals optioned struggling reliever Ryan Fernandez to Memphis before the game. Fernandez allowed two home runs, and five total runs, in just 1 2/3 innings in three appearances on the road trip and had an 11.42 ERA for the season … Riley O’Brien took Fernandez’s spot in the bullpen. He had 14 strikeouts in seven innings while pitching at Memphis … Top prospect J.J. Wetherholt has missed the last week at Double A Springfield because of the flu but he is scheduled to return to the lineup on Sunday.
Up next: Sonny Gray will get the start on Saturday in the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
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