Cardinals super-utility man Brendan Donovan lined an RBI single into center field that allowed pinch runner Michael Siani to score the go-ahead run from second base in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Cardinals tacked on two additional insurance runs in the inning on a Dylan Carlson double as their offense enjoyed its highest scoring output since May 17.
The Cardinals, who’d coughed up a four-run lead earlier in the game, rallied and earned a 8-5 win against the Colorado Rockies in front of an announced crowd of 35,299 in the second game of a four-game series at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
The Cardinals (30-32) evened the series at one game apiece.
Donovan’s go-ahead hit came as part of a 2-for-4 performance. He started the game in left field, and moved to second base for the final inning as Siani went to the outfield.
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Carlson went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a pair of hits batting left-handed, including his first extra-base hit of the season. Alec Burleson (2 for 5), Paul Goldschmidt (2 for 4, two RBIs) and Ivan Herrera (2 for 2, two runs) also had multi-hit games. Rookie shortstop Masyn Winn went 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out six, and he did not factor in the decision. He left the game with the score tied.
The Cardinals relief corps allowed just one run in five innings. Closer Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth inning to register his MLB-leading 21st save of the season.
Getting to Gomber early
The first three Cardinals batters of the game reached base safely against Rockies starting pitcher and former Cardinal Austin Gomber. Winn led off with a double followed by a Burleson single and an RBI infield single by Goldschmidt.
The first out of the inning scored a run for the Cardinals as Nolan Arenado belted a sacrifice fly to right field after Burleson and Goldschmidt moved up to second and third on a wild pitch.
Burleson scored on a sacrifice fly, and Goldschmidt scored one batter later thanks to Gorman’s RBI single through an infield playing in with one out.
The Cardinals grabbed a three-run lead before they’d made the second out in the inning.
Moving up the rankings
Lynn struck out Michael Toglia to end the second inning and strand the bases loaded after a pair of one-out singles and a two-out walk.
The strikeout of Toglia — he swung and missed on a 94-mph fastball — tied Lynn with Jesse Haines for the seventh-most strikeouts in franchise history.
Lynn, now in his second stint with the Cardinals, moved into sole possession of seventh place when he struck out Charlie Blackmon, looking, to start the third inning. The Toglia strikeout started a stretch of four consecutive strikeouts for Lynn.
Adding onto Gomber’s tab
With two outs in the second inning, three consecutive Cardinals reached base, and they added a run to their lead thanks to a Goldschmidt RBI single to right field.
Winn walked with two outs and Burleson swatted his second hit of the game. That left runners on the corners for Goldschmidt with two outs.
Goldschmidt went the other way with an 0-1 fastball from Gomber for his second hit in as many at-bats.
The Cardinals had four hits in their first five at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Rockies rally in a blink
The Rockies tied the score with a four-run fourth inning against Lynn. All four runs scored with two outs, and all crossed the plate on one play.
After Elias Diaz’s leadoff single, Brendan Rodgers reached on a fielder’s choice. Rodgers had to leave the game with an injury, which caused Alan Trejo to enter as a pinch runner. Brenton Doyle’s single put two men on base with just one out.
Cardinals left fielder Brendan Donovan ranged to left-center field to track down a deep drive by Elehuris Montero for the second out of the inning, but Lynn walked Jake Cave to load the bases with two outs.
The next batter, Toglia, jumped on a first-pitch cutter from Lynn and rifled it down the right field line for a bases-clearing triple. The second baseman, Gorman, received the cutoff throw and threw to third base in an attempt to get Toglia.
However, Gorman’s throw appeared to hit Toglia on the leg or foot as he slid into third base. The ball caromed away from the third baseman Arenado into foul territory. Lynn was not backing up the throw to third base and Toglia scored to make the play a “Little League†grand slam. Officially, the play went as a triple and throwing error by Gorman.
The Rockies took a one-run lead in the fifth inning on Trejo’s out-out RBI single up the middle off of relief pitcher Kyle Leahy.
They threatened to score in the sixth, but left-handed reliever John King recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and stranded a pair of runners on base.
Carlson delivers in the clutch
Carlson started for the 12th time this season (fourth time in center field). He played in his 25th game since he came off the injured list on May 5.
Carlson, who’d won the starting center field job in spring training with Tommy Edman still recovering from wrist surgery, missed the first 33 games of the regular season with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder.
Carlson sustained that injury in an outfield collision with Jordan Walker during the second-to-last exhibition game of spring training.
Carlson entered the day batting .128, but he has fared better this season and over the course of his career batting against left-handed pitchers.
Carlson, a switch hitter, showed marked improvement in his production as a left-handed hitter during spring training. He’d made that a focus of his offseason training as well as work in spring training.
For his career, Carlson has slashed .218/.302/.362 while batting left-handed (against right-handed pitching) as opposed to a slash line of .296/.368/.448 as a right-handed hitter.
This season, Carlson had gone 1 for 18 against right-handed pitchers entering the night. His first hit, an infield single, came on June 1.
Asked before the game about Carlson making progress at the plate, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol replied, “Tough to judge in the sense of he’s probably wanting more at-bats in order to get into a rhythm. That’s not the way the season has played out for him. So it would be one thing to say, ‘Yes, we’re looking for more production.’ But it’s hard to get into a rhythm and produce when you’re wanting to play every day and you don’t get into that rhythm that allows you to do so.â€
Marmol left Carlson in the game to bat left-handed in the sixth inning against right-handed reliever Anthony Molina, and Carlson hit a two-out RBI single on the ground into center field. That tied the score 5-5. That set the stage for the eighth-inning rally.