The St. Louis Cardinals faced off against the Milwaukee Brewers today in their first game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals entered the game with a record of 47-42, sitting in third place in the National League Central division behind the Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers came into St. Louis with a 52-38 record, leading the NL Central.
In the starting lineup for the Cardinals was Tommy Edman batting leadoff and playing second base. Edman has had a breakout season for the Cards, batting .278 with an .818 OPS. Leading off the bottom of the first with a single, Edman got their offense started early. Following Edman was first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who came into the game batting .332 with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs. Goldschmidt struck out looking in his first at-bat.
The Cardinals sent Adam Wainwright to the mound to face the Brewers. At 40 years old, Wainwright has been a stalwart of the Cardinals rotation for over a decade. This season, he has a 7-6 record with a 3.28 ERA in 18 starts. Wainwright cruised through a 1-2-3 top of the first, striking out Brewers leadoff hitter Kolten Wong looking to start his outing strong.
In the bottom of the first with one out and Edman on first, Nolan Arenado stepped to the plate. Arenado was acquired in an offseason trade with the Colorado Rockies and has lived up to expectations in his first season in St. Louis. Batting .275 with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs, Arenado crushed a Wainwright pitch over the wall in left field for a two-run homer. The Cardinals grabbed an early 2-0 lead thanks to Arenado’s power.
The Brewers got a run back in the top of the second against Wainwright. Andrew McCutchen led off with a single and scored on a Rowdy Tellez RBI double down the left field line. However, Wainwright was able to limit the damage, getting Hunter Renfroe to fly out to end the inning with the score 2-1 Cardinals.
In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals offense broke the game open. Goldschmidt started the inning with a walk and then Arenado singled to put two runners on with no outs. Brewers starter Eric Lauer was unable to put the Cardinals away, as Dylan Carlson hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Goldschmidt. Edman then lined a single to score Arenado and make it 4-1 St. Louis.
Wainwright cruised through the middle innings, keeping the Brewers off the board. He worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth by getting Luis Urias to ground into an inning-ending double play. Through six innings, Wainwright had only allowed the one run on five hits while striking out five.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth against Brewers reliever Brent Suter. Harrison Bader led off with a double and scored on a Tyler O’Neill RBI single. Goldschmidt then blasted a two-run homer to left, his 19th of the year, to make it a 7-1 St. Louis advantage.
In the seventh, the Brewers threatened against Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos. A Renfroe single and walk to pinch hitter Jace Peterson put two on with one out. However, Gallegos was able to strike out Wong and get McCutchen to ground out to end the threat.
Genesis Cabrera pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis to keep Milwaukee off the board. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals added an insurance run against reliever Hoby Milner. Edman led off with a single and scored on a Carlson RBI double to make it 8-1.
In the ninth, Ryan Helsley closed things out for his sixth save of the season. He allowed a leadoff single to Urias but then struck out the next three batters to seal the 8-1 Cardinals victory.
Wainwright earned the win, pitching 7 1/3 innings with one run allowed on six hits. The Cardinals offense pounded out 13 hits led by Edman, Arenado, and Goldschmidt, who all had multi-hit games. The win moves St. Louis back within 3.5 games of the first place Brewers in the NL Central standings.
In the second game of the series tomorrow night, the Cardinals will send Jack Flaherty to the mound against Brewers ace Corbin Burnes. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM CT at Busch Stadium as the Cardinals look to take the series from their division rivals. After today’s convincing win powered by the offense and Wainwright’s strong start, St. Louis has momentum as they aim for their 48th win of the season.
