Kyle Gibson turned in turned in one of his best performances in a Cardinals uniform. He and Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert locked in a thrilling, no-margin-for-error pitcher’s duel, and it took Gibson’s batterymate Pedro Pages to deliver a decisive swing in the eighth inning.
Gibson and the Cardinals’ bullpen powered their way to the eighth shutout of the season for the pitching staff, and Pages’ two-run home run accounted for all the game’s scoring in a 2-0 win over the Mariners in front of an announced crowd of 38,532 at Busch Stadium for the second game of a three-game series on Saturday night.
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley put the finishing touches on the victory in the ninth inning and earned his 43rd save of the season. Helsley tied former Cardinals and Baseball Hall of Fame member Lee Smith for the sixth-most saves in a season in franchise history (Smith did it in 1992 and 1993).
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The starting pitchers allowed just four total hits through the first six innings of the game.
Gibson held the Mariners to just three hits and three walks in 6â…” innings. He struck out nine batters and threw a season-high 112 pitches.
Gilbert (7-11) allowed two runs on two hits and one walk in eight innings. He struck out 10.
The Cardinals (72-70) earned would earn a series victory with a win on Sunday afternoon. They played their 95th game of the season decided by three runs or fewer.
The Mariners (772-71) left 10 men on base, and they went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
An early escape by inches
Gibson allowed a pair of singles and a one-out walk to load the bases in the first inning. The Mariners were within a heartbeat of potentially breaking the game open just as it had gotten started.
Designated hitter Justin Turner, a former two-time All-Star with five 20-homer seasons on his major-league résumé, came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out with a chance to put the Cardinals in an early hole.
He hooked an 0-2 sweeper from Gibson down the left field line. The ball smacked the grass just inches to the foul side of the white chalk line. Gibson then got Turner to swing and miss on his 21st pitch of the outing, another sweeper, for the second out.
Gibson then struck out Jorge Polanco, swinging, on a sweeper to end the inning. That stranded the bases loaded and kept the Mariners without a run. Gibson has faced 19 batters this season with the bases loaded, the second-most in the majors.
Gibson recorded all three outs — all strikeouts — in the first inning on his sweeper. He entered the night with a 41.8% whiff rate on sweepers this season, the second-highest rate among MLB starters this season behind his teammate Sonny Gray (42.9%).
Gilbert flashes dominance
The Cardinals did not have a hit the first time through the batting order against Gilbert. They hit just one ball to an outfielder in their first nine at-bats.
Gilbert, an American League All-Star this season, came into the outing ranked first among AL qualified pitchers in walks plus hits per innings pitched (WHIP, 0.90), quality starts (21) and opponent’s batting average (.199).
The Cardinals’ first base runner came with one out in the fourth inning when Alec Burleson drew a walk at the end of an eight-pitch battle with Gilbert that included three pitches fouled off by Burleson. That runner got quickly wiped away when the next batter, Paul Goldschmidt, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Gilbert did not give up a hit until Lars Nootbaar lined a double into the right-center field gap in the fifth inning. Gilbert had been highly efficient. His first hit allowed came on his 47th pitch of the night, which came with an out in the fifth inning.
Gibson keeps rolling
Starting with the back-to-back strikeouts to end the first inning, Gibson retired seven consecutive batters. That string snapped with a two-out double by Randy Arozarena in the third inning.
Gibson retired 18 of 19 batters from the end of the first inning through the start of the seventh inning. In the top of the fifth, he got Josh Rojas on a called third strike for the second out of that frame. The Rojas strikeouts marked the 1,500th strikeout in Gibson’s career.
Gibson, a former University of Missouri standout, is pitching in his 12th big-league season — his first with the Cardinals.
Gibson matched his season high for strikeouts in a game when he struck out Luke Raley, swinging, to end the sixth inning. That marked his ninth strikeout of the night, and it also marked the 10th consecutive batter Gibson retired.
Gibson retired Turner to start the seventh, but then walked Polanco. Gibson got J.P. Crawford to hit fly ball to center field for the second out of the inning.
Then, with left-hander JoJo Romero warming in the bullpen and the left-handed batting Rojas due up next, Gibson walked Mitch Haniger to put two men on base. That prompted Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol to make a pitching change and bring in Romero.
Romero kept the shutout intact
Romero entered with two men on and two outs in the seventh.
The Mariners countered the pitching change by pinch-hitting right-handed hitting Dylan Moore against Romero. Moore, who hit a two-run home run in Friday night’s series opener, walked to lead the bases against Romero.
That set the gable for Mariners young star Julio Rodriguez, the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year as well as a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
Romero got Rodriguez to hit an inning-ending grounder that kept the score tied 0-0 as the Mariners left the bases loaded for the second time in the game.