Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Padres 0
By Rob Rains
With the trading deadline less than a week away, other teams are expected to have interest in at least four relievers on the Cardinals.
They showed why on Friday night.
Steven Matz, Phil Maton, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley all took turns shutting down the Padres over the final four innings to complete a shutout at Busch Stadium.
Matz, Maton and Helsley are all set to become free agents at the end of the season and Romero has one year of control left, but in his third year of arbitration, likely is headed toward a big pay raise, perhaps making him a trade candidate as well.
The four completed what Miles Mikolas started as he scattered six hits but kept the Padres from scoring through the first five innings.
The Padres outhit the Cardinals 11-5 but went 0-of-9 with a runner in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
According to the Baseball Reference website, it was the first time the Cardinals allowed 11 hits but still recorded a shutout since 1943 in a 10-inning game. The last time it happened in a nine-inning game was in 1931.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals scored their three runs on only one hit. In the second, Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, went to second on an error, advanced to third on Masyn Winn’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a groundout by Yohel Pozo … In the fourth, Contreras and Nolan Arenado drew one-out walks before Winn delivered a two-run double … Contreras doubled in the sixth and singled in the eighth, reaching base in all four plate appearances … Winn’s double was their only hit in nine at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Mikolas got out of a two-on, one out jam in the third, stranding runners on second and third … He also allowed back-to-back singles leading off the fourth before a baserunning error by Xander Bogaerts, trying to advance on a fly ball, resulted in a double play and let Mikolas get out of that inning … With another scoreless inning, Romero has now allowed only one earned run (three total) in his last 29 appearances covering 25 1/3 innings since April 27 … Helsley earned his second consecutive save and 21st of the season, pitching around a two-out single in the ninth.
Key stat: Even though the Cardinals starting pitchers have struggled since the All-Star break, the relievers have been very effective. In the eight games since the break, the bullpen has combined to allow four earned runs in 30 innings, a 1.20 ERA.
Worth noting: Contreras was hit on his left arm, which prompted the benches and bullpens to clear. It was the 15th time he has been hit by a pitch this season, the most in the NL … Contreras also took over the league lead in doubles with his 28th of the season, his career high … ESPN announced that it has picked up the Sunday Aug. 10 game against the Cubs at Busch Stadium for Sunday night baseball, moving the game to a 6:10 p.m. start instead of 1:15 p.m.
Up next: After getting extra rest, Matthew Liberatore will make his first start since the All-Star break in the third game of the series on Saturday night.
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