Saturday’s Game Report: Yankees 12, Cardinals 8
By Rob Rains
The already-battered Cardinals got beat up some more by the Yankees on Saturday night and might have lost another player in the process.
Already playing short because of injuries to Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras, the Cardinals saw Victor Scott II forced to leave the game at Busch Stadium early because of a sprained ankle which he suffered trying to rob Aaron Judge of a home run.
Scott’s effort was in vain as the Cardinals had no answers on how to shut down the top three batters in the Yankees order.
Sonny Gray was staked to a 5-2 lead after a three-run homer by Masyn Winn in the second, but could not protect it as the Yankees charged back.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice and Judge combined to reach base 13 times through the first seven innings, with Rice leading the way with a seven-RBI night. His three-run homer off Gray in the fourth inning flipped the game in favor of the Yankees. He also had a three-run double in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh.
The three combined for nine hits, drew four walks, scored seven runs and had nine RBIs.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Cardinals, who fell two games below .500 for the first time since May 5.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Winn’s homer was one of three hit by the Cardinals. Nolan Gorman added a two-run shot in the sixth that brought the Cardinals within 9-7. Pedro Pages also homered in the ninth, when the Cardinals got two-out infield singles from Winn and Alec Burleson to force the game into a save situation before Ivan Herrera fouled out … Burleson had three hits, including a first-inning triple, and Pages also had a three-hit night.
On the mound: Gray opened the game by allowing a single, walk and an RBI double to Judge before getting his first out, then served up the home runs to Judge in the third and Rice in the fourth. He allowed nine hits and two walks, leading to the six runs … Kyle Leahy did not retire a batter in the sixth, giving up four consecutive hits including the three-run double by Rice … Ryan McMahon hit the final Yankees homer, off Roddery Munoz in the three-run seventh.
Key stat: Rice became the fourth visiting player in Busch Stadium 3 history to drive in at least seven runs. The others to do it were Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers in 2018, Marco Scutaro of the Giants in 2012 and J.R. Towles of the Astros, who drove in eight runs in a game in 2007.
Worth noting: The Cardinals scored in the first inning for the first time since July 24. Including the two runs scored by the Yankees in the top of the inning, the Cardinals have been outscored 22-2 in the first inning since the All-Star break … John King worked a 1-2-3 inning for Memphis as he began a rehab assignment, needing only eight pitches to get the three outs … Also for Memphis, JJ Wetherholt hit his ninth homer in 25 games with the Triple A team, his 16h overall home run of the season.
Up next: Miles Mikolas will get the start on Sunday as the Cardinals try to keep from being swept in the three-game series.
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