ST. LOUIS — At least for the Cardinals, it was worth the wait.
With rain heading toward downtown St. Louis, the tarp came out at Busch Stadium with the Cardinals coming to bat in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game on Saturday night.
They wouldn’t send their first hitter to the plate in the inning for another 3 hours and 37 minutes. Play resumed at 11:21 p.m. More than an hour and a half later, they had their third win in a row.
Matt Wieters doubled in a run and scored in a three-run sixth inning and Andrew Miller was able to get out of a jam in the seventh to send the Cardinals to the win.
Even after their horrible May, the Cardinals now find themselves just three games behind the first-place Brewers in the NL Central. Milwaukee moved past the Cubs into first place on Saturday night with Chicago’s loss.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Paul Goldschmidt homered in the first inning, his 12th of the season, and the Cardinals got their second run in the third on an RBI single from Marcell Ozuna, his team-leading 51st of the season … Ozuna’s single began the three-run sixth. He scored on the double by Wieters, who came home on a single by Dexter Fowler. A two-out double by Kolten Wong drove in Fowler … Fowler and Harrison Bader provided some insurance runs with back-to-back homers in the eighth.
On the mound: Jack Flaherty pitched the five innings before the rainin delay, allowing a first-inning homer by Anthony Rizzo and a second-inning homer by Jason Heyward. Flaherty had allowed only one home run in his last four starts covering 23 innings. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter for the second consecutive start … Miller relieved John Brebbia and gave up a bunt single to Daniel Descalso which loaded he bases with nobody out in the seventh. He struck out Kyle Schwarber looking, got a force out grounder from Kris Bryant, which scored a run, and struck out Anthony Rizzo to strand two runners … Giovanny Gallegos worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Carlos Martinez retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save.
Key stat: The 3 hour, 37 minute rain delay was longer than all but one of the Cardinals’ nine-inning games so far this season. The actual playing time of Saturday night-Sunday morning’s game was 3 hours, 4 minutes.
Worth noting: The home run and a single left Rizzo 7 of 11 in his career off Flaherty with two home runs. It’s the most hits allowed by Flaherty in his career to an opposing batter … Ozuna finished May with 22 RBIs after driving in 28 runs in April. It’s the second time in his career he has driven in 20 or more runs in consecutive months. He also did it in July and August in 2017 when he was with the Marlins … Prospect Dylan Carlson hit his ninth homer, in 198 at-bats this season, for Double A Springfield on Saturday night.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will send Adam Wainwright to the mound on Sunday to try to complete the sweep of the three-game series.
Here's what other people are reading:
Here's what other people are watching:
