Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas speaks with the media on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, after a series-clinching win over the Brewers at Busch Stadium. (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
MINNEAPOLIS — A game that began with an eyeful against the Twins of what Sonny Gray showed time and time again he could do while a member of the Twins did not take long to become a reminder of what’s held him back as a Cardinal.
In his return to Target Field, where he starred last year with a Cy Young Award-contending season, Gray struck out the side in the first inning.
A dual with Pablo Lopez began with perfect innings from both right-handers.
It took them a combined 16 pitches to get those six outs.
It took two swings for the Twins to upend Gray’s return.
Trevor Larnach hit the 19th and 20th homers of the season off Gray to launch Minnesota toward a 6-0 victory Saturday night at a bustling downtown Minneapolis. The Cardinals (64-65) sank beneath .500 as quickly as they surfaced. With Zach Bryan prepping for a show at the football stadium down the road and Caitlin Clark leading the Indiana Fever into a sold-out WNBA game next door at Target Center, the Twins kept pace with a display of power in front of a crowd of 35,183 that had raucous swaths of Cardinals faithful. The Twins hit three home runs to even the three-game series with the Cardinals and Lopez (12-8) pitched superbly with seven shutout innings opposite a pitcher he considers a mentor.
Potential Cardinal rallies ended in breeze of swings and misses.
Larnach’s multi-homer game was the first of his career and it came in his 274th game. For Gray, the homers — and multi-homer games — have been piling up as an anchor on his first season with the Cardinals. In 32 starts for the Twins in 2023, Gray allowed a total of eight home runs. At Target Field, he allowed four home runs all summer in 97 2/3 innings. Larnach got half as many on his own in Gray’s first five innings Saturday.
For the eighth time in 24 starts this season, Gray (11-9) allowed at least five runs. He did so only two times in those 32 starts for the Twins a year ago.
The loss put an end to the Cardinals’ notable three-game winning streak, but leaves them with a chance to claim the series. Of more immediate concern for the Cardinals is the availability of their catcher and leading hitter Contreras and whether their No. 1 starter can claim the consistency they need to claw back into contention.
Contreras concerns (and a gulp moment)
A day after he had to pause during the game to allow a stinging pain in his catching hand to recede so that he could resume receiving and handle the next nine innings, Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras took another blow to the hand in the fourth inning Saturday.
Lopez left a pitch up and in on Contreras, and the ball crashed off both of Contreras’ hands, striking the left hand — that catching hand — before pinballing to the right.
Contreras, at designated hitter for the day, remained in the game as the leadoff runner for the Cardinals. But when the inning was over and the Cardinals did not budge from first base it started to become clear he might not return to the game. Contreras was removed from the game for the DH’s at-bat in the sixth inning, and after the game it was revealed he has fractured finger on his right hand.
Matt Carpenter replaced him, and that presented a catch for the Cardinals.
With Contreras out at DH and Pedro Pages already behind the plate, they technically had no backup catcher available if something happened later in the game. And then something did. Pages took a wild pitch off his exposed neck in the bottom of the sixth inning that left him bent over and flexing his jaw once he caught his breath. Second baseman Brendan Donovan started moving closer to the dugout as the team’s emergency catcher. But Pages remained in the game and finished the inning — a welt already formed on his neck.
Gray begins his return in style, then scuffles
As if responding to friend and former teammate Lopez’s six-pitch perfect first inning, Gray announced his return to his former haunt with authority.
He came one pitch shy of an immaculate first inning.
The right-hander, who finished last year as the Cy Young Award runnerup and ace for the Twins, struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. He struck out all three batters in the inning and did so on 10 pitches. Only Larnach, fittingly, saw a fourth pitch from Gray in his first inning at-bat. Those were also Gray’s final strikeouts before the Twins tagged him with four runs in the third inning.
It was a microcosm of Gray’s first season with the Cardinals. He’s has games with brilliance and innings of dominances.
He’s given several Sonny glimpses.
He’s had Sonny games.
He’s seeking those Sonny stretches.
“I like where he’s at mentally right now, and he’ll put himself in the best position to pitch,†manager Oliver Marmol said before Saturday’s duel. “(This is) his best shot to go on that stretch.â€
A speedbump for Gray continues to be home runs. After allowing only eight total in 2023, the right-hander has allowed 20 this season in fewer innings. He won a game earlier this summer at Atlanta while allowing four homers and noted that it was only possible because those homers were solo shots. No such minimizing Saturday. In the third inning, a one-out double by the No. 9 hitter to start the inning was followed by a walk to the leadoff hitter.
That turned Larnach’s first homer into a three-run bolt for the game’s first runs.
Two more hits followed and a groundout RBI boosted the Twins to their early 4-0 lead that Larnach extended in the fifth with a solo homer.
The inning could have gone worse from there if not for center fielder Victor Scott II’s leaping catch in deep center to end the inning with a lineout.
Rallies picked off in scoring position
Before the Twins took their four-run lead in the third inning, the Cardinals had back-to-back chances to deliver the game’s first run. Both ended in a strikeout but not before one came apart with a pickoff.
In the third inning, rookie Scott led off with a double. The Cardinals gave up an out to allow Masyn Winn to bunt the speedster into scoring position. The Cardinals gave up another out when Scott was caught straying from third base for a pickoff that left the bases suddenly empty. With lefty Alec Burleson at the plate, Twins catcher Christian Vazquez had a clear lane to challenge Scott’s lead off third.
At one point, with the infield in, Vazquez stood up behind the plate.
He created a high target for Lopez, and when the right-hander complied, Vazquez was already in stride to make the third base and catch Scott scrambling back. The pickoff meant the Cardinals had lost two outs in the inning by getting the same runner to third base.
The inning ended when Lopez struck out Burleson just as he had to end the previous inning. Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar stung a single and a double, respectively, to give two teammates (at least) a chance with two runners in scoring position. Neither made contact. Lopez struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Pages to end the inning and leave two Cardinals stranded.
Through five innings, the Cardinals were hitless in seven plate appearances with at least a runner in scoring position, and they struck out four times in those seven chances.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II crashes into the outfield wall after catching a line-out hit by Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II catches a line out hit by Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Austin Martin, right, beats the tag by ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after hitting a double during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
The Cardinals' Alec Burleson throws his bat after striking out to end the top of the third inning against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach celebrates with Austin Martin and Willi Castro, right, after hitting a 3-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray, second from left, stands on the mound with teammates as pitching coach Dusty Blake (90) comes to talk during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray adjusts his cap after a three-run home run by the Twins’ Trevor Larnach during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach hits a 3-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks across the mound after a three-run home run by Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
The Twins’ Austin Martin, right, beats the tag by Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after hitting a double during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals' Victor Scott II walks back to the dugout after being picked off at third base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Matt Wallner celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach watches his three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals relief pitcher Kyle Leahy stands on the mound after a solo home run by Minnesota Twins' Matt Wallner during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II crashes into the outfield wall after catching a line-out hit by Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II catches a line out hit by Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins' Austin Martin, right, beats the tag by ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after hitting a double during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Cardinals' Alec Burleson throws his bat after striking out to end the top of the third inning against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach celebrates with Austin Martin and Willi Castro, right, after hitting a 3-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray, second from left, stands on the mound with teammates as pitching coach Dusty Blake (90) comes to talk during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray adjusts his cap after a three-run home run by the Twins’ Trevor Larnach during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach hits a 3-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks across the mound after a three-run home run by Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Twins’ Austin Martin, right, beats the tag by Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after hitting a double during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals' Victor Scott II walks back to the dugout after being picked off at third base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins' Matt Wallner celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach watches his three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals relief pitcher Kyle Leahy stands on the mound after a solo home run by Minnesota Twins' Matt Wallner during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
A day after suffering two costly losses in one game, the Cardinals wrap up a road series Sunday against the Twins. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray adjusts his cap after a three-run home run by the Twins’ Trevor Larnach during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
The Twins’ Austin Martin, right, beats the tag by Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after hitting a double during the third inning Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.