A soggy series finale goes the Cardinals way
Game Result
The Orioles bleed Mikolas for 3 early runs, but the Cardinals run down the Orioles starter by the fifth inning, led by two doubles from Winn, a HR from Donovan and another key contribution from Walker with 2 RBI. Oli used his bullpen aggressively and they clamped down the O’s offense, allowing 0 runs over the last 5 innings.
Pre-game Notes
- The Cardinals play today, going for the series win at Baltimore. A win would push them to a season high 8 games over .500. But that is getting ahead of things.
- The weather forecast is pretty questionable and not sure if a game will be possible today. I’m sure they will do what they can to get it in, but both teams are off tomorrow.
Line-up (and roster) Machinations
- Povich, a lefty, for the Orioles, Mikolas the Cardinals.
- Matz, Maton (7 pitches) and Helsley (13 pitches) threw yesterday. They will be on the “prefer not to use” list but could be called upon with a day off tomorrow.
- A standard line-up all the way around. Herrera at DH. Walker in RF. Contreras at 1b.
The Game
Each team has been issued rubber shoes and goggles to get this game in. A light, steady rain falls. Sounds like the field has taken more than an inch in the last 24 hours.
Each team led off their half of the first inning with a hit, and each team stranded those runners. Each team got their lead-off hitter on in the second inning, too. The Cardinals little rally quelled with an Arendo GIDP. The Orioles pulled the death of a thousand cuts routine, getting two runs without the ball leaving the infield. Two IF hits, with two ground outs got those runs home, then a Holliday double added a third run for a crooked number inning. 3-0 after two. Mikolas doesn’t do well in inclement weather on the East Coast, I gather. This inning involved some defensive hijinks, as well, when Mikolas makes a poor, perhaps ill-advised thrown on a ball hit 24 mph and measured out at 6 feet. I think it was more like 9 feet but who am I to quibble? Been a number of those in the past week. The third inning was comparatively uneventful for both teams, although when we looked up at the end of 3, the Oriole pitcher Povich has 6 K’s.
The Cardinals come out in the fourth with a new game plan against the lefty. The new strategy, you ask? Load the bases in front of Jordan Walker, who delivers a solid 2-RBI single to tighten the game up at 3-2. Povich now at 8 K’s. Mikolas sought to keep up with Povich’s 8 K’s but was matching him with hits instead of out. He allowed with three straight singles to start bottom of the frame, the third yet another RBI single. These are hard to watch. Mikolas having a heckuva time getting LH hitters out. More defensive hijinks as they throw away a back-pick. Mikolas did get out of the mess with 3 straight pop outs, down 4-2.
The Cardinals grab that run right back in the fifth with back-to-back lead-off doubles by Winn and Nootbar. Winn just missed an HR there. One of the consequences of piling up all the strikeouts is Povich ran out of pitches in the fifth. Fortunately, the Oriole manager didn’t recognize 8 batters faced in the 4th and 2 more consecutive batters on base in the fifth spelled trouble. Donovan makes him pay with a 2-run HR and order is restored. Cards up 5-4. Here is respect for ya. The manager lets a tired Povich face Contreras, Herrera and Arenado, but decides he doesn’t want Povich facing Walker. The legend of JW has reached Baltimore! Bowman K’s Walker, though.
As the game moves to the bottom of the 5th, I’m wondering if Oli chooses to get aggressive with his bullpen. Mikolas pitch count isn’t awful (72), but…Indeed, Leahy comes in, meaning the bullpen is asked to get 15 outs. All-in-all, Oli has to like his chances pitting his bullpen against Baltimore’s. Leahy works into and out of trouble with two walks to get the game to the 6th with a narrow 1-run lead.
Bowman works an easy 6th against the bottom of the Cardinal line-up. King was excellent with his inning, striking out 2. The Cardinals tacked on a run in the 7th with a Winn double and a Herrera RBI.
Maton was likewise excellent in his inning, with 2 K’s. Helsley closed it out with a high wire act in the ninth, getting their best hitter (O’Hearn) to ground out on a middle-middle FB (albeit 99.1 mph) with the winning run at the plate. Cardinals with a comeback win by a score of 6-4. That is a series win, too.
Post-game Notes
- The Cardinals head to Texas for a series against the Rangers starting Friday.
- Helsley’s FB velo is OK, but he is getting no swing-and-miss. Concerning.
- McGreevy with a strong start for Memphis tonight. 6 IP. 1 R. 9 K. Folks probably noticed Honeyman got moved from low-A to high-A yesterday. Wondering if Baez is enroute to AA (he was not in the Peoria line-up tonight).
- I came away from this series unsure what the make of the Orioles. Are they really this bad? The last couple of years, I’ve wondered if they were really that good. I think I’ve concluded that they are highly dependent on star performances from a few players (Rutschman, Henderson) and they fall off quickly if they aren’t getting that. They haven’t really replaced the talent they lost (Santander, Burnes, etc.). Their pitching is not well-constructed this year.