Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, White Sox 1
By Rob Rains
Trying to take advantage of opportunities has been one of the themes of the Cardinals season, and that’s exactly what Alec Burleson did on Sunday.
A fielding error by Colson Montgomery on a ground ball that should have been the third out in the sixth inning instead brought Burleson to the plate with the bases loaded.
The White Sox were clinging to a 1-0 lead but Burleson flipped the game with a double that drove in all three runners and sent the Cardinals to the win at Busch Stadium.
The three RBIs increased Burleson’s season total to 109 and allowed him to take over the major-league lead in that category from the Reds’ Sal Stewart, who has driven in 107 runs this season.
The White Sox tried to rally in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs against George Soriano but Montgomery missed his chance to make up for his error, flying out to end the game.
The last Cardinal to lead the NL in RBIs for a season was Albert Pujols in 2010. The last time a Cardinal had the most RBIs in the majors was when Joe Torre did it in 1971.
Here is how Sundy’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals did not have a baserunner until Nathan Church singled with one out in the sixth, breaking the streak of 16 consecutive batters retired by David Sandlin. Masyn Winn also singled and the error by Montgomery on a grounder by Ivan Herrera brought up Burleson, who delivered his 36th double of the season … Church, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games, doubled in the eighth but he failed to tag up from third on a fly ball by Victor Scott II that cost the Cardinals an insurance run.
On the mound: Michael McGreevy allowed just three hits over his six innings. Two of those hits, a single and double, followed by a sacrifice fly, gave the White Sox their only run in the second … Gordon Graceffo retired all six of the hitters he faced … Soriano allowed a leadoff single and walked two in the ninth before getting the final out.
Key stat: With his two scoreless innings, Graceffo remained the only Cardinals’ reliever on the current roster who has not allowed a run in September. Graceffo has now worked 7 2/3 innings. The other eight relievers combined have allowed 33 runs over 42 innings.
Worth noting: Joshua Baez did not play on Sunday. He has 92 at-bats since he was promoted from Memphis and must finish the season with less than 130 at-bats to retain his rookie status for next season. There are 12 games left on the schedule … JJ Wetherholt (right wrist tendinitis) is still several days away from returning to the lineup and Blaze Jordan (ankle) has had his scheduled rehab assignment pushed back by a couple of days … Jesus Baez hit his 39th homer in Springfield’s final game of the regular season on Sunday, equaling the most by a Cardinals minor leaguer since 1949. He has hit 25 homers since he was promoted to Double A on June 23.
Up next: Quinn Mathews will get the start on Monday night as the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Giants.
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