Monday’s Game Report: Mariners 4, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
One swing of the bat from Alec Burleson wasn’t enough offense for the Cardinals to earn a victory on Monday night in Seattle.
Burleson returned to the lineup from the injured list and his two-run homer in the fourth inning was the extent of the team’s offense as they lost the opener of the three-game series against the Mariners.
The homer was one of only three hits for the Cardinals, who struck out 14 times and didn’t have an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the final at-bat of the game, and that came after a two-out walk and a wild pitch.
Burleson’s homer gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead, but the Mariners put together a four-run sixth off Miles Mikolas and Gordon Graceffo to wipe out the short-lived lead.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The only other hits for the Cardinals were a one-out single by Ivan Herrera in front of Burleson’s homer, his 17th of the season, and a one-out single by Lars Nootbaar in the sixth … This was the ninth time this season the Cardinals have been held to three or fewer hits … Nolan Gorman struck out three times, including the final out of the game after Herrera walked and went to second on the wild pitch … The fourth through ninth-place hitters were a combined 0-of-19 with 12 of the team’s strikeouts.
On the mound: Mikolas kept the Mariners scoreless through the first five innings, pitching around leadoff doubles in the fourth and fifth … A leadoff walk got him in trouble in the sixth, followed by a single by Randy Arozarena that knocked him out of the game …. Graceffo walked Cal Raleigh to load the bases, then gave up a single, double and sacrifice fly that accounted for the four runs … Nick Raquet made his major-league debut in the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning.
Key stat: The Cardinals failed to extend their winning streak to three games. They have only won three games in a row once since the end of June and when they had a chance to win their third consecutive game, they have gone 1-6 in those games over that stretch.
Worth noting: To open a spot for Burleson on the roster, Garrett Hampson was designated for assignment … In another roster move, Andre Granillo was optioned to Memphis and the Cardinals purchased the contract of the lefthanded Raquet. After three years in the Nationals’ farm system, Raquet was out of baseball from 2020-2023 before pitching in independent ball and signing with the Cardinals in 2024. His addition gives the Cardinals a second lefthander in the bullpen … Willson Contreras served the final game of his four-game suspension … Brendan Donovan will begin a rehab assignment with Double A Springfield on Tuesday night with the expectation that he will be ready to rejoin the Cardinals for the weekend in Milwaukee.
Up next: Matthew Liberatore will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
