ST. LOUIS — A six-run fourth inning proved to be too great an obstacle for the Cardinals to overcome on Tuesday night in a loss to the Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
If there was one pitch in that inning that kind of summed up the Cardinals’ night it was a ball that bounced in front of the plate – before Nick Ahmed hit it into left field for a two-run double.
The loss was the seventh in the last nine home games for the Cardinals.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals pulled within one run after Willson Contreras hit his second home run of the game in a three-run ninth inning. A two-out walk to Tyler O’Neill brought the winning run to the plate but Dylan Carlson grounded out to end the game … Contreras had hit his first home run as a Cardinal in the seventh … Paul Goldschmidt also homered, in the first inning, after getting the day off on Monday and then doubled and scored on the Contreras home run in the ninth. Last year Goldschmidt hit .363 with six homers and 14 RBIs following a day off … Carlson and an RBI double in the sixth, snapping an 0-of-16 streak.
On the mound: The victm of the Diamondbacks big fourth inning was Jordan Montgomey, who allowed seven hits and the six runs in the inning when Arizona sent 11 batters to the plate … The run that turned out to be the winning run scored in the eighth when Chris Stratton, after two perfect innings, allowed back-to-back singles before Evan Longoria greeted JoJo Romero with an RBI single … Trailing by four runs, the Cardinals let Jordan Hicks pitch the ninth inning and he recorded three strikeouts, also giving up a two-out single.
Key stat: The seven runs in four innings allowed by Montgomey raised the ERA for the Cardinals’ starters through the first 12 home games of the season to 5.78, 40 earned runs in 62 1/3 innings. Only once in the 12 games has the starter recorded an out in the seventh inning.
Worth noting: Romero was recalled from Memphis before the game to replace Andre Pallante as the Cardinals were in need of a fresh arm in the bullpen … Brendan Donovan was scratched from the lineup because of a abrasion on his right shin. Which he apparently suffered on a slide on Monday night … Nolan Arenado was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season but pinch-hit in the ninth, flying out to center.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will send Jake Woodford to the mound for the 12:15 p.m. game on Wednesday, attempting to avoid being swept in the series.
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