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Tuesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 6, Guardians 5 (10 innings)
By Rob Rains
One strike away from a fourth consecutive loss after another poor outing from a reliever, the Cardinals caught a break on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
Trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, Masyn Winn hit a ground ball to second but instead of it being the game-ending out, a fielding error let Winn reach base. A wild pitch moved him to second, and he then scored the tying run on a double by Yohel Pozo.
The Cardinals won the game in the 10th when another wild pitch moved automatic runner Thomas Saggese from second to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Church.
The win came after Ryne Stanek allowed three runs in the eighth that broke a 2-2 tie before JJ Wetherholt’s second homer of the night pulled the Cardinals within one run going to the ninth.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Wetherholt had not homered since opening day before his third-inning blast and he then celebrated his first career two-homer game with a two-run shot in the eighth … Ivan Herrera also homered, his first of the season, but Jordan Walker did not, settling for a single in his four at-bats … The Guardians turned four double plays against the Cardinals, one coming on a strikeout-caught stealing and another when Wetherholt was doubled off second on a fly ball.
On the mound: Starter Michael McGreevy served up a home run to Jose Ramirez in the first inning, the third consecutive game in which the opponent hit a homer in the opening inning. He also allowed a home run with two outs in the second, but then gave up only one more hit before coming out of the game after the fifth inning … After scoreless innings from George Soriano and JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek relieved with one out in the eighth and gave up four consecutive hits, producing the three runs … Matt Svanson worked a 1-2-3 ninth and Riley O’Brien stranded the automatic runner at third in the 10th.
Key stat: Over the last four games, the Cardinals bullpen has allowed a combined 15 runs in 18 innings.
Worth noting: The Cardinals’ top pitching prospect, Liam Doyle, also had a rough night in his second start of the year for Double A Springfield. Doyle failed to get out of the first inning at Wichita, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk, recording only two outs. Doyle’s ERA jumped to 17.18 … At Memphis, Hunter Dobbins turned in another strong outing, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. He has a 2.93 ERA during his rehab assignment … In addition to his two home runs, Wetherholt also turned in a highlight-reel play on defense, making a leaping catch of a line drive … The Cardinals are 4-0 in extra innings this season.
Up next: The series and homestand will conclude with a 12:15 p.m. game on Wednesday. Dustin May will get the start.
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