Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 4, Diamondbacks 3
By Rob Rains
Sometimes it’s not how many hits a team gets that’s important; it’s when they get them that matters more.
Nolan Arenado proved that on Friday night.
Zac Gallen had allowed only two hits to the Cardinals, both by Victor Scott II, when Arenado came up to bat with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game against the Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
One swing later, the Cardinals had the lead as Arenado’s triple cleared the bases and sent the Cardinals to the victory in the opener of the three-game series.
The Cardinals loaded the bases off Gallen on a pair of walks following Scott II’s single, before Gallen walked Ivan Herrera on a 3-2 pitch to force in the first run of the inning.
Arenado’s shot to the wall in left center was almost caught by Alec Thomas, who bobbled the ball as he slid toward the wall on the warning track.
A two-out, two-run homer off Ryan Helsley in the ninth cut the lead to 4-3 before Helsley got the final out to secure the victory.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals’ only hit before the sixth was Scott II’s single with one out in the third. He also stole his 14th base of the season … They finished the game with four hits after Masyn Winn added a single in the eighth … Through the first five innings Gallen, a former Cardinals prospect, had thrown first pitch strikes to 14 of the 17 hitters he faced and allowed only three baserunners, walking one and hitting another … The Cardinals have a combined nine hits in their last two games and Scott II, the ninth-place hitter, has three of them.
On the mound: The sixth-inning rally gave the victory to Miles Mikolas, who allowed four hits through his six innings. One of the hits was a home run by Ketel Marte leading off the fourth … Mikolas has allowed a combined five runs in his last six starts, covering 33 2/3 innings … JoJo Romero worked the seventh and Kyle Leahy the eighth before Helsley came in for the ninth, only his second appearance in the last week. He was greeted by a leadoff single, then allowed the pinch-hit homer to Gabriel Moreno before getting the third out and his 10th save when Corbin Carroll popped out.
Key stat: Manager Oli Marmol was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes. It’s Marmol’s third ejection of the year and since the start of the 2024 season, Marmol’s nine ejections are the most for any MLB manager. He had been tied with Aaron Boone of the Yankees for the most ejections with eight.
Worth noting: Willson Contreras was in the original lineup but was a late scratch because of back spasms. The move was said to be precautionary … The Cardinals swapped relievers before the game, bringing Matt Svanson back from Memphis and optioning Chris Roycroft to the Triple A club … Zack Thompson, who has been on the injured list since spring training, was in town to visit with team doctors about the lat strain that has still prevented him from throwing off a mound … Prospect Rainiel Rodriguez hit his seventh home run for the Cardinals’ Rookie Florida Complex League team on Friday in just 42 at-bats. The 18-year-old catcher also is hitting .381.
Up next: Matthew Liberatore 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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