Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 6, Rays 5 (10 innings)
By Rob Rains
It’s been quite an eventful first two days in the major leagues for JJ Wetherholt.
After hitting a home run in his major-league debut for the Cardinals on Thursday and playing a role in their comeback victory on opening day, he received more than 300 text messages.
He was prepared for a lot more after Saturday’s game, when his single to right in the 10th inning drove in two runs and gave the Cardinals a walk-off win over the Rays at Busch Stadium.
The victory came after the Cardinals were one out away from a tidy 4-0 win before the Rays rallied for four runs to tie the game, then took the lead in the top of the 10th.
With the automatic runner on second to begin the bottom of the inning, Jordan Walker drew a leadoff walk and Victor Scott II’s bunt advanced the runners to second and third.
With first base open, and slow-running catcher Pedro Pages on deck, the Rays inexplicably pitched to Wetherholt. On the first pitch, he singled past the drawn-in second baseman to drive in both runs.
“Brownie (hitting coach Brant Brown) pulled me aside and said, ‘You get the first guy in, we’ll worry about the second guy later,’” Wetherholt said. “He wanted a fly ball to center. Didn’t work like that, but we’ll take it.”
Wetherholt had thought he might be walked intentionally but the fact he had one game of major-league experience might have affected the decision.
“I feel like the nature of it is they are going to want to challenge me and want me to prove myself,” he said. “Maybe situationally I can understand it, but happy they didn’t.”
After he rounded first base, Wetherholt knew what was coming next as his teammates charged out of the dugout toward him.
“It’s a little bit scary because you get all these people just sprinting at you and I’m like, ‘Am I supposed to run toward them, am I supposed to run away, when’s the water coming?’” he said. “It’s such a great feeling to see that.”
Manager Oli Marmol was not surprised that Wetherholt delivered the game-winning hit in that situation.
“I have a feeling we are going to see a lot of that,” Marmol said. “He doesn’t scare. He stayed within himself and did exactly what was called for. It was perfect.”
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Wetherholt had a chance to drive in a run in the eighth but popped out with runners on second and third … He singled leading off the first inning, stole second and scored the first of the Cardinals’ two runs in the inning on a single by Alec Burleson … After Nolan Gorman’s single drove in the second run, the Cardinals did not have another baserunner until Ramon Urias doubled with two outs in the seventh … They increased the lead to 4-0 in the eighth when Ivan Herrera doubled after Wetherholt was retired and Burleson hit a sacrifice fly.
On the mound: Even though none of his 96 pitches were faster than 92 miles per hour, Michael McGreevy did not allow a hit through six innings before coming out of the game. He walked two and another runner reached on an error while he was striking out five … Riley O’Brien allowed the first Tampa hit on his first pitch in the seventh but then got a double play … Matt Svansn and Ryne Stanek could not protect the 4-0 lead in the ninth, with Svanson giving up two hits and a walk before Stanek relieved and allowed back-to-back singles with two outs that tied the game … He also allowed the hit in the 10th that gave the Rays the lead.
Key stat: Wetherholt is the third Cardinal to begin his major-league career with two or more RBIs in his first two games, the first to do it since Tom Nieto in 1984. The only other player to do that was Joe Cunningham in 1954.
Worth noting: Herrera caught the first eight innings before coming out of the game for a pinch-runner. It was his first time catching in a regular-season game since June 19 of last season. None of the five Tampa runners who reached base while Herrera was in the game attempted to steal.
Up next: The Cardinals will try to complete a sweep of the season-opening three-game series on Sunday as Dustin May makes his St. Louis debut.
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