ST. LOUIS — After hitting a triple in the fifth inning on Wednesday, Tommy Edman knew the same thing everybody else at Busch Stadium knew – he was a single away from hitting for the cycle.
“I thought, ‘Oh wait, I’ve already got the homer and double,’” Edman said. “The easiest one’s left.”
Edman had only one chance to become the first Cardinal to hit for the cycle at Busch 3, coming to bat in the sixth, but grounded into a fielder’s choice.
“It’s hard not to (think about it),” Edman said. “I was definitely trying to get a pitch that I could hit a single on and ended up chasing outside the zone a little bit. Probably got a little too excited. I had a shot, unfortunately just couldn’t do it.
“It’s always a good feeling when you have those kinds of days.”
The personal disappointment of coming so close and missing the cycle was off-set by Edman’s career-high five RBIs in the team’s big win over the Diamondbacks that included the first career grand slam from Nolan Gorman.
Edman doubled in the first inning, walked in the second, hit a three-run homer in the third before the triple, which drove in two runs, in the fifth.
He almost got another chance in the Cardinals’ last at-bat in the eighth, but when Andrew Knizner struck out, Edman was left in the on-deck circle.
Edman remembered being “close” likely missing the triple, from getting a cycle in the low minor leagues. If he ever did it before, he said it probably came in Little League.
The last Cardinal to hit for the cycle in a home game was Mark Grudzielanek in 2005.
Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The last Cardinal leadoff hitter to drive in five runs before Edman was Matt Carpenter in his three-homer, seven-RBI game in Chicago in 2018 … The three-run homer gave the Cardinals a 7-3 lead and the triple increased the lead to 10-4 before Gorman unloaded for the grand slam in the sixth, after three walks loaded the bases. It was Gorman’s fifth homer and gave him 18 RBIs in the first 19 games of the season … When Nolan Arenado grounded out in the second, the Cardinals were just 3-of-21 with the bases loaded before Gorman’s homer … Dylan Carlson, hitting second, drove in Edman twice with a double in the first and a single in the fifth … Jordan Walker and Willson Contreras also each contributed two of the team’s 13 hits.
On the mound: Jake Woodford allowed four of the Arizona runs on seven hits over five innings, giving up two home runs … The other run scored in the eighth off Genesis Cabrera following scoreless innings from Zack Thompson and Drew VerHagen … Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for the second game in a row, issuing a walk while recording two strikeouts.
Key stat: Edman did become only the third Cardinal in the history of Busch 3, since 2006, to have a double, triple and home run in the same game. The others to do that were Carlos Beltran, who hit two homers, in 2012 and Juan Encarnacion in 2006.
Worth noting: Adam Wainwright allowed four hits in his three innings of work in a rehab start at Double A Springfield, one of which was a two-run homer to the ninth-place hitter in Midland’s lineup. He threw 59 pitches, striking out three. Wainwright likely will make another rehab start, with the date and location to be determined. Both Memphis and Springfield will be on the road next week … In his start at Memphis on Wednesday, Dakota Hudson gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings … Brendan Donovan was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive day because of a shin abrasion which became infected but did come into the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.
Looking ahead: After Thursday’s day off, the Cardinals will begin a 10-game, 10-day West Coast trip on Friday night with the first of three games in Seattle. They will also play four in San Francisco and three in Los Angeles before returning home on May 2 to host the Angels.
Want more local sports delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the 5 On Your Side Sports Plus newsletter.
