Make that ten in a row for the Redbirds!
On a night where runs were few and far between, the Cardinals once again found a way to get it done, securing their longest winning streak since 2001.
“We do know every win is big at this point in the year,” said starter Jake Woodford. “We’re going out there fighting every night trying to get another W.”
And it was big. The Padres and Reds both lost their respective games. As a result, St. Louis tightened its grip on the second Wild Card spot. They lead the Reds by four games. Philadelphia sits 4 ½ back, while the Padres fell to five games out with their loss to the Giants.
“Clearly it’s significant regardless of the time of year you do that. It’s important this time of year, clearly more magnified,” manager Mike Shildt said. “But really it’s just about a group of players that believe and have believed in themselves, believed in each other, believed in the process, believed in the competition, the preparation and believed in each other.”
The Cardinals scratched out a run in the first on Tyler O’Neill’s sacrifice fly, but it wasn’t until the third that they managed to pick up their first hit off Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff. It was his counterpart, Woodford who got St. Louis in the hit column.
And Woodford set the tone for the Cards, going five shutout innings and allowing just two hits in his first win since July 19.
St. Louis added another run in the eighth when Lars Nootbaar stole second after walking and was later driven in on Tommy Edman’s single. That run proved to be crucial, as Milwaukee would score one in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 2-1 game.
In the ninth, closer Giovanny Gallegos made things interesting, giving up a leadoff single to Avisail Garcia, then walking Luis Urias with one out.
Gallegos rebounded and retired Manny Pina on a fly ball to center field, but intentionally walked Christian Yelich to load the bases and set up a righty-righty matchup with Pablo Lopez.
The count ran to 2-2. Gallegos pitch count had reached twenty. But on the next pitch, he struck out Lopez to finish off the win.
“Gio’s been unbelievable since he took over that closer role,” said Tommy Edman. “He’s exactly the guy you want in those situations, just calm and collected.”
With the win, the Cards ensured themselves of at least a .500 season or better for the 14th straight year. They’ll send Miles Mikolas to the mound tonight with a chance to win their fourth consecutive series.
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