Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 5, Braves 4
By Rob Rains
With all of the rainouts, delays and doubleheaders the Cardinals have had to play in the first half of this season, it probably was appropriate that they wouldn’t reach the All-Star break without two more interruptions.
Sunday’s first-half finale at Busch Stadium was interrupted for 1 hour, 21 minutes because of rain in the bottom of the third and then again in the top of the fifth. That delay lasted 2 hours, 41 minutes.
The wait was worth it for Jose Fermin, who launched his first career homer in the sixth. The two-run shot turned out to be the difference in the Cardinals’ victory.
The second delay came after Matt Olson singled in two runs to break a 1-1 tie. The Cardinals tied the game in the fifth on a two-run bloop double from Willson Contreras.
The decision to wait out the long second delay and resume the game was said to come from Major League Baseball, and players on neither team reportedly were happy about it, many of whom had flights booked Sunday night out of St. Louis to begin their All-Star break.
The game finally ended at 7:56 p.m., six hours and 41 minutes after the 1:15 first pitch.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: A two-out single from Victor Scott II drove in the first Cardinas run in the second, scoring Masyn Winn from second after he reached on a leadoff walk … Another leadoff walk, to Scott in the fifth came before a two-out single from Alec Burleson and the two-run double from Contreras … Winn singled to lead off the sixth in front of the home run from Fermin … Ivan Herrera was in the lineup as the DH and had a single and walk and stole two bases.
On the mound: The long delay in the third knocked Sonny Gray out of the game after three innings and only 36 pitches. He was only able to throw 70 pitches, and five innings, in his last start on Tuesday night because of a delay of more than two hours before the first pitch … Gray retired the first eight batters he faced, four on strikeouts, before three consecutive two-out singles produced the first run for the Braves … Steven Matz relieved Gray and gave up the hit to Olson before the second delay … Gordon Graceffo and Riley O’Brien got the game to closer Ryan Helsley, who allowed a walk and a single that got the tying run to third before he recorded the final out.
Worth noting: Herrera was recalled from his rehab assignment after playing only two of a planned four games in Memphis. Lars Nootbaar was placed on the IL because of a muscle strain in his rib cage which has been bothering him for several weeks … The stolen base by Scott II in the second inning was his 24th of the season, the most by a Cardinal before the All-Star break since Delino DeShields stole 31 in 1997 … Manager Oli Marmol was ejected in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes … Pitching prospect Tink Hence was placed back on the injured list at Double A Springfield because of shoulder inflammation. Counting rehab outings he has only pitched in eight games this this season, working a total of 21 1/3 innings.
Up next: The Cardinals will be on the All-Star break until Friday, when they will begin a three-game series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
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