Tuesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 2, Athletics 1
By Rob Rains
Two plays the Cardinals don’t employ often played a big role in their win over the Athletics on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
With the A’s leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, the A’s had a runner on third with two out and Nick Kurtz, the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, coming to the plate.
Kurtz had driven in the run for the A’s with a double in the third, but the Cardinals chose to issue an intentional walk to Kurtz, and the move worked with Jacob Wilson popped out to end the inning.
It was only the second intentional walk issued by a Cardinals starting pitcher this season and the first issued by Miles Mikolas since 2019.
Then in the sixth inning, after Victor Scott II led off with a walk, the Cardinals got a sacrifice bunt from Nathan Church and one out later, Scott scored on a two-run homer by Ivan Herrera that sent the Cardinals to the victory.
The smallest crowd in the 20-year history of Busch Stadium 3 saw the game, 17,002, 673 fewer than a game against the Pirates on Aug. 25.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Herrera’s homer was his 13th of the season and second in as many nights. It was one of just five hits for the Cardinals, who had only four at-bats with a runner in scoring position and left just two runners on base … Church had two of the hits, a third-inning single and a two-out double in the eighth … After striking out 39 times in their previous three games, the Cardinals only had five strikeouts.
On the mound: Mikolas scattered five hits, four of them doubles, over six innings. He stranded three runners in scoring position … It was only his second win in nine starts since the All-Star break … Matt Svanson worked two scoreless innings, pitching around a two-out walk in the eighth … JoJo Romero earned his sixth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Key stat: This was the fifth win for the Cardinals in a game when they scored two runs. They had lost their last seven games when they scored two runs, and are now 5-8 in those games this season.
Worth noting: The game was played in 1 hour, 55 minutes. It was the Cardinals second game in less than two hours this season. The other was a 1:49 game on May 17 at Kansas City, a 1-0 win in a game also started by Mikolas …It was their fastest game at home since 2006 … Reliever Riley O’Brien will not have to go on the IL despite missing the last several games because of a sore shoulder.
Up next: Matthew Liberatore will get the start on Wednesday night in the final game of the series.
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