Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 7, Rockies 4
By Rob Rains
One of the strong traits that JJ Wetherholt has displayed during his rookie season for the Cardinals is the ability to work deep counts during his at-bats.
Wetherholt also has shown that he knows when to jump on the first pitch, however, like in the eighth inning on Sunday.
With the Cardinals having turned a 4-1 lead into a tie game, Wetherholt turned on the first pitch from reliever Parker Mushinkski and drove it to the center field wall, bringing in two runs and giving the Cardinals the victory over the Rockies at Busch Stadium.
It was Wetherholt’s 19th hit in 58 at-bats that ended on the first pitch, a .328 average.
Earlier in the game, Wetherholt worked a full count on each of his first three plate appearances, leading to a pair of walks and a fly out. Of his 80 plate appearances that have reached a full count, Wetherholt is 15-of-50, a .300 average, and has drawn 27 walks.
His double in the eighth came with two outs. Masyn Winn and Nathan Church opened the inning with singles. Jose Fermin laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners but Bryan Torres struck out, bringing Wetherholt to the plate.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals built their 4-1 lead on an RBI single by Jordan Walker in the first, a sacrifice fly from Jimmy Crooks and an RBI double by Winn in the second and a home run by Alec Burleson leading off the fifth, his 19th of the season … Ivan Herrera had a four-hit day, all singles, and his last hit in the ninth drove in Wetherholt, who also led off the seventh with a single but was stranded at third base.
On the mound: Michael McGreevy allowed a leadoff double to Jake McCarthy to begin the game, leading to a run, before working out of a couple of jams and pitching into the sixth. After retiring the first two batters in the inning, he gave up a double and then a home run that pulled the Rockies within 4-3 … Hunter Goodman tied the game with a first-pitch homer off George Soriano in the eighth. Soriano was able to keep the game tied by stranding the go-ahead runner at second base … Riley O’Brien worked a perfect ninth to earn his 29th save.
Key stat: The second win in the series left the Cardinals with a 24-9 record at home against the Rockies since the 2016 season.
Worth noting: McGreevy has won only one of his last 15 starts, dating back to May 8. He is 1-7 with seven no-decisions in that stretch … Nolan Gorman hit his 11th homer of the year for Memphis on Sunday, his seventh in his last 11 games. Gorman still is hitting just .180, however, since he was sent down to Triple A.
Up next: The homestand continues on Monday night with the first of three games against the Phillies. Hunter Dobbins is the scheduled starter.
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