Monday’s Game Report: Angels 3, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
One night after they blew a 7-0 lead and suffered one of their worst losses of the season, the Cardinals had another game get away from them in the ninth inning on Monday night in Anaheim.
Leading 2-1, the Cardinals turned to closer Riley O’Brien, but he gave up two hits and hit two batters, including Jo Adell with the bases loaded, that brought in the winning run and handed the Cardinals their second consecutive walk-off loss.
O’Brien struck out Mike Trout to begin the ninth, but then allowed a single, hit a batter and then gave up the game-tying double. An intentional walk loaded the bases before O’Brien hit Adell.
The win broke a streak of 106 consecutive losses by the Angels when they were losing going into the ninth inning. They had been 0-48 this season when they were behind after eight innings, according to ESPN.
The Cardinals had protected the 2-1 lead since the third inning, getting six quality innings out of starter Kyle Leahy.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals scored both of their runs in the second inning. Jordan Walker had a leadoff double and went to third on a single by Lars Nootbaar. A single by Nathan Church drove in Walker, and Nootbaar scored on a groundout from Blazer Jordan … The Cardinals had only one more hit after the second, when Church singled with two outs in the fourth but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double … Their only other baserunners after the second came on a pair of walks … Ivan Herrera struck out four times for the first time in his career.
On the mound: The only run allowed by Leahy came on a home run from Adell leading off the third. That was one of only three hits off Leahy, who struck out four and did not walk a batter … Ryne Stanek and George Soriano each worked a scoreless inning, despite letting the leadoff reach base, but then O’Brien suffered his fifth blown save in the ninth.
Key stat: Leahy has allowed a combined total of two runs in his last five starts, covering a total of 25 1/3 innings. The Cardinals have won only two of those five games.
Worth noting: Packy Naughton, who suffered a third major injury to his elbow for pitching for Memphis in April, announced his retirement from baseball on Monday. Naughton posted on Instagram, “I gave this game everything I had, and then some. While I’m proud of that, it doesn’t make writing these words any easier.” Naughton will work as a coach for the Cardinals, based in Jupiter, Fla., for the rest of the season to decide if that is something he would like to pursue in the future … Bruce Zimmermann, who elected to become a free agent after he cleared waivers instead of returning to Memphis, is signing with a team in the Korean Baseball Organization.
Up next: Matthew Liberatore, after an extended break, will make his first start since July 11 in the second game against the Angels on Tuesday night.
Follow Rob Rains on X @RobRains
