Nolan Arenado believes he can still have a positive impact. He still loves to compete. The Cardinals star third baseman hasn’t played up to his typical level this season, but for the second straight week Arenado provided the winning hit in a walk-off win and capped a hard-fought win as his club continues to chase a postseason pipe dream.
The Cardinals used a combination of essential performances from their veteran cornerstones of Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado along with clutch plays from their youthful core such as rookie shortstop Masyn Winn and rookie center fielder Victor Scott II and still-developing starting pitcher Andre Pallante to earn a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in the third game of their four-game series in front of an announced crowd of 30,999 at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Cardinals (66-67) put themselves in position to earn a series split with a win in Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Padres and former Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt.
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Goldschmidt went 3 for 4 with an RBI, while Luken Baker (1 for 4, double) also drove in a run as did Brendan Donovan.
Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters, and he gave up both of his runs in the first inning. Pallante has now pitched five innings or more in 10 of his past 11 starts.
Arenado went 2 for 5 in the win. His game-winning hit came off , one night after he only appeared as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of a 7-5 loss.
“I feel really good,†Arenado said. “Obviously, that day off (Tuesday) helped. We’ve got 29 games now left after today. My goal is to play every single one of them to until we get to the finish line, see where we end up.â€
A 33-year-old 10-time Gold Glove winner with eight All-Star selections and five Silver Sluggers on his resume, Arenado batted .300 and averaged 40 home runs and 124 RBIs from 2015-2019 with the Colorado Rockies. He averaged 30 homers and 100 RBIs in his first three seasons with the Cardinals.
Through Wednesday night, Arenado has batted .271 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs.
“I think at the end of the day what I’ve come to realize is if I’m not going to perform well, I’m definitely not going to be a cancer in this clubhouse to anybody,†Arenado said. “I’m still going to try to help. I can still lead in different ways. It may not be performance, but I can still help these guys out. Spend time with them. Get to know them. I feel like the young guys, the energy has kind of helped me perform better because I just want to compete with them and enjoy it.
“I’m just trying to get lost in the competition. I’m not too worried about what my numbers say. I know they’re not where I want them to be, but I can’t change it overnight either. So I just try to go out there every day and compete. Whatever happens, happens.â€
Arenado has been a notoriously harsh critic of his own play. He’s known for taking his slumps at the plate to heart, and he regularly accepts blame for the club’s offensive shortcomings when they’re underperforming.
Earlier this season, Arenado spoke candidly about his struggles and not being himself at the plate while he tried to sort our mechanical and approach issues. He offered a scathing critique of his performance and characterized his at-bats at that time as “terrible.â€
Late this season, Arenado seems to have found a way not to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders into the batter’s box.
He said he has tried to feed off the energy of some of the club’s younger players late this season and not focus on the drop-off in his offensive production as the Cardinals try to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season (they finished the night seven games out of the final wild card spot).
Arenado’s 11th-careeer walk-off RBI (his third with the Cardinals) came one week after he blasted an extra-inning walk-off grand slam to beat the Milwaukee Brewers on August 21.
“I didn’t have the greatest at-bats today,†Arenado said after his second walk-off in an eight-day span. “With Suarez, who has got a great arm, I just tried to shorten up. I just tried to barrel it. I didn’t try to do too much there, and I got rewarded for that. So that was nice.
“But at the end of the day, it really starts with Masyn. His at-bat and Victory. These guys just had great at-bats, and it was about time I picked up the slack a little bit. There young guys did such a good job today, and I’m just happy to pick them up.â€
Cardinals All-Star closer Ryan Helsley stranded the potential go-ahead run at third base in the top of the ninth inning, then Arenado’s single on the ground into center field concluded a string of three-consecutive two-out hits against Suarez.
The Padres (76-59) had been 50-2 in the previous 52 games Suarez had pitched in this season.
The Cardinals led 3-2 in the eighth inning, but Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka belted a solo home run to left field with two outs against reliever JoJo Romero.
The Padres threatened to take the lead in the ninth after leadoff hitter and former two-time batting champion Luis Arraez swatted a double on a slider well below the strike zone, with an awkward swing and a ball that came within inches of going foul up the left field line.
Instead, Arraez’s ball stayed fair for a double and put the go-ahead run in scoring position with no outs. A sacrifice bunt by Jurickson Profar moved pinch runner Tyler Wade, running for Arraez, to third base with one out.
Helsley then struck out Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado, each on swinging third strikes, and stranded the runner.
In the bottom of the ninth, Winn provided the first drop in the bucket when he shot a 101.9-mph fastball from Suarez into right field for a two-out two-strike single.
Scott, who struck out with the bases loaded in a critical juncture in Tuesday night's loss, flared a 100.7-mph heater from Suarez back up the middle and into center field. That set up Arenado’s at-bat.
“To be honest, in my head I was envisioning my first walk-off homer,†Winn said. “Up until two strikes, I was taking some big hacks. But once I got to two, I was like, ‘I just need to shorten up and get on base.’
“I was more so thinking if we ended up getting out of the inning and if I was the last out, I’d be on second. Then once I got on base I was like if Vic gets out, he’s going to be on second next inning. Then it ended up great. Broken-bat single and then Nado walking it off.â€
Scott has batted .238 in 20 games since the Cardinals recalled him from the minors on August 4. The speedster entered the game in place of Alec Burleson as a pinch runner in the seventh inning. Scott then went into center field in the eighth inning and Lars Nootbaar moved from center field to Burleson’s previous position in right field.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol acknowledged he had some uneasiness about removing Burleson with the Cardinals holding onto a one-run lead at the time. Burleson leads the team with 21 home runs and 72 RBIs and has batted .278 this season.
“That’s always such a tough decision, taking Burley out of the game in a one-run ballgame,†Marmol said. “It happened (Tuesday). It happened again today because you look at his defense compared to Victor, it’s a clear upgrade.
“That’s not a knock on Burley. It’s just you use your pieces appropriately. And (Arenado) makes that last out [in the seventh], so basically to get back around to him is going to be tough. You take the defense in the eighth and ninth. They tie it up, and Scott is going to have to take that at-bat. Thankfully, he came through there.â€
Scott’s at-bat, perhaps one of the most pivotal of the game, brought Arenado to the plate.
Arenado took a 100-mph fastball for a called strike, then laid off a low and away changeup. Suarez came back with a 101-mph fastball over the heart of the plate, and Arenado slapped it up the middle and drove Winn home for the winning run.
“Anytime, as a young player, you get some hits — especially in big situations — it gives you confidence,†Goldschmidt said. “I think we’ve seen Masyn do that this whole year. He’s not lacking in confidence. I don’t think Victor is either, but it always can build. Just a good job by them.
"Their closer gets two quick outs, and it’s looking like, ‘Oh, man. Here we go. Extra innings.’ And without really trying to do too much — it’s easy to try to hit a home run there — those guys kept it simple and got two singles. Then Nolan did the same thing. We didn’t need a home run to win that game. Just a good job by those three guys.â€