Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol speaks with the media on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, after a win vs. Texas at Busch Stadium. (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham showed off his flair for the dramatic Tuesday night in his return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ. One day after the Cardinals completed a trade to bring their former 2006 draft pick back into the fold, Pham made his presence felt immediately when the first ball he put his bat on left the yard for a grand slam.
Pham’s blast came on a night when more than half his club’s hits went for extra bases as the Cardinals slugged their way to an 8-1 win over the Texas Rangers in front of an announced crowd of 32,395 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals evened the series, with each team having won a game apiece heading into Wednesday afternoon’s rubber match.
With the win, the Cardinals (55-52) snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers in their home ballpark.
Masyn Winn (1 for 5) provided the spark that ignited the offense with a leadoff home run, while Lars Nootbaar (1 for 4), Alec Burleson (1 for 3, two runs scored) and Brandon Crawford (2 for 4) each drove in runs in the win.
Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (6-4) earned his first career win against the Rangers, and he has now recorded a win against all 30 current MLB franchises. He allowed one run on three hits and one walk in five innings. He also struck out three batters.
Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who turned 40 on Saturday, gave up three runs on four hits and one walk in four innings. The Cardinals scored a run in each of the first three innings against Scherzer.
Youngster introduces himself to Scherzer
Winn, the Cardinals’ rookie shortstop, hit the first pitch he saw from Scherzer an estimated 416 feet for a leadoff home run into the visiting bullpen beyond the left-center field wall.
That marked the first home run on the first pitch of a game for the Cardinals since Brendan Donovan belted a homer on the first pitch on April 2, 2023.
Winn’s seventh home run of the season was his second in his past five games.
Scherzer hadn’t allowed a home run on the first pitch of a game since April 16, 2021, when Ronald Acuna Jr. took Scherzer deep when Scherzer was a member of the Washington Nationals.
The one-run lead did not last. The Rangers struck for a run in the top of the second inning when Wyatt Langford hit a solo home run to left field in the first at-bat of that frame.
Marmol plays matchup game with the lineup
For the second night in a row against the Rangers, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol inserted one of his veteran bench players into the lineup to take advantage of a matchup against a starting pitcher.
Monday night, Marmol started Matt Carpenter against Rangers veteran Nathan Eovaldi. Carpenter had enjoyed success in his previous meetings with Eovaldi, and Carpenter bashed a two-run home run in his first at-bat of Monday’s series-opening game.
Tuesday, veteran infielder Brandon Crawford stepped into the starting lineup as the third baseman with Scherzer on the mound for the Rangers.
Crawford entered the day having gone 6 for 18 (.333) against Scherzer, a ºüÀêÊÓƵ native and University of Missouri product, over the course of his career in the majors. Crawford came into the day with five extra-base hits and five RBIs against Scherzer, including a pair of home runs, and an .833 slugging percentage.
Carpenter, who’d gone 8 for 33 (.242) against Scherzer in his career, started for the second consecutive game as the designated hitter.
Carpenter and Crawford hit back-to-back doubles in the second inning, and Carwford’s double drove in Carpenter and gave the Cardinals a 2-1 edge.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado and left fielder/second baseman Brendan Donovan were not in the starting lineup on Tuesday night. The Cardinals are in a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game. They were originally scheduled to have a day off on Monday, Aug. 5, but that day will now be used as a makeup date for a rainout against the New York Mets from May 8.
Cardinals tack on runs
The Cardinals increased their lead to 3-1 in the third inning after Burleson walked with one out and remained on first base when Nootbaar came to the plate with two outs.
Burleson was running on a 3-2 pitch with two outs, and Nootbaar ripped a double into right field. Burleson scored on the play to give the Cardinals three runs in as many innings.
The Cardinals then put the game out of reach with a five-run fifth inning.
The fifth starter with the Cardinals manufacturing a run. Michael Siani reached on a bunt single, stole second base, advanced to third on a ground ball to second base by Winn and Burleson drove Siani in with an RBI single.
Following Burleson’s one-out single, Willson Contreras singled. After Nootbaar struck out, Paul Goldschmidt drew a two-out walk that loaded the bases.
Pham came to the plate as a pinch hitter in place of Carpenter with the bases loaded. Pham smoked a 2-2 change-up on the outer half of the plate an estimated 405 feet right-center field. The line drive left Pham’s bat with a 106.2 mph exit velocity and just got high enough to clear the outfield wall.
The grand slam gave the Cardinals an 8-1 lead through five innings.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol speaks with the media on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, after a win vs. Texas at Busch Stadium. (Video by Ethan Erick…
Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam in the fifth inning of a game against the Rangers on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at Busch Stadium. Pham’s at-bat was his first back with the team after being acquired in a trade on Monday.
Cardinals left fielder Alec Burleson and shortstop Masyn Winn celebrate Winn’s solo home run in the first inning of a game against the Rangers on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at Busch Stadium.