Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 9, Twins 6
By Rob Rains
Blaze Jordan didn’t take very long to become a member of the Cardinals’ home run club.
Playing his second game since being promoted from Memphis, Jordan’s three-run homer in the seventh inning capped a five-run inning that carried the Cardinals to Saturday’s win over the Twins in Minneapolis.
It was the third homer in the span of five batters in the inning for the Cardinals, including the second of the game from Ivan Herrera.
The Cardinals almost needed all of those runs as the Twins, who pulled out a late-night win on Friday night, tried to rally in the eighth and ninth inning before a struggling Riley O’Brien was finally able to close out the win.
O’Brien walked the first three hitters he faced in the ninth and stranded the bases loaded with Byron Buxton standing on deck when the game ended.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Herrera’s first homer came two batters into the game following a leadoff walk to Masyn Winn. It was the third consecutive game the Cardinals have homered in the first inning … Herrera and Jordan Walker hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the seventh, which began with the game tied 4-4. Walker’s homer, his 18th of the season, was measured at 454 feet … Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson singled in front of Jordan’s home run. In his first two games Jordan has four hits, including a triple, four RBIs and has scored two runs … burleson’s hit extended his hitting streak to 13 games … Pedro Pages had three hits, including two doubles, scored a run and drove in a run.
On the mound: After allowing only one hit in the first three innings, Matthew Liberatore gave up three homers in the span of seven batters in the fourth and fifth and was pulled with one out in the fifth … Matt Svanson, Ryne Stanek and Chris Roycroft retired nine consecutive batters before a walk off Roycroft led to a run in the eighth … In the ninth, O’Brien threw 31 pitches, only 12 of them strikes, before getting the game’s final out.
Key stat: In addition to his two home runs, Herrera drew a walk and was hit by a pitch, reaching base four times in his five plate appearances. In the first five games of this road trip, Herrera has reached base 16 times in 25 plate appearances with the two homers, five singles, a double, five walks and three times when he was hit by a pitch. He has scored eight runs.
Worth noting: Manager Oli Marmol was ejected for the first time this season when he argued that a Twins ABS challenge in the seventh inning should not have been allowed because it was not requested in time … The Cardinals have hit 81 homers in the first 68 games of the season. They didn’t hit their 81st homer last year until their 80th game of the season, on June 24.
Up next: Michael McGreevy will get the start on Sunday in the final game of the series and the road trip.
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