ST. LOUIS — Injuries to Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman helped Alec Burleson secure a spot on the Cardinals’ opening day roster, and then gave him a chance to get into the lineup.
Games like what Burleson did on Saturday have kept him there.
Burleson enjoyed the first two-homer game of his career and drove in a career-best five runs as the Cardinals hit four home runs in defeating the Giants at Busch Stadium, a rare game which they won by more than three runs.
The Cardinals’ previous five games had been decided by a margin of one run each, and this was only the eighth time in their 38 wins that the winning margin was more than three runs.
Burleson hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off former Cardinal Jordan Hicks, then added a two-run shot over the center field wall in the sixth for his 12th home run of the season.
The home runs came after he singled in the first inning and scored on a home run by Paul Goldschmidt. Over the last two games, Burleson has gone 5-of-7 with six runs scored.
The win allowed the Cardinals to climb back to one game above .500 (38-37), equalng their best record of the season.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Burleson’s first home run turned a 4-2 Giants lead into a 5-4 margin for the Cardinals. It was the sixth three-run homer of the year for the Cardinals, the third hit by Burleson … After Burleson’s second home run, Brendan Donovan hit the fourth blast of the day for the Cardinals, a solo shot in the seventh, before Masyn Winn’s single produced the final run …The one-two combination at the top of the lineup, Winn and Burleson, had six of the team’s 13 hits.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas survived a 32-pitch, three-run first inning to work six innings and pick up his first win at Busch Stadium this season. He had been 0-2 with four no-decisions. Mikolas also allowed a run when a two-out walk came around to score in the third but then retired the final 10 hitters he faced … JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez and Kyle Leahy combined to shut out the Giants over the final three innings, despite giving up four hits
Key stat: In his 20 games in June, Burleson is hitting .278 (22-of-79) with a team-leading seven home runs. He is tied with Donovan for the most RBIs this month with 12.
Worth noting: The Cardinals placed Ivan Herrera on the injured list before the game because of back tightness, then saw Michael Siani and Nolan Arenado have to come out of the game with injuries. Siani suffered bruised ribs making a diving catch to end the third inning, and Arenado left in the eighth because of what was announced as left forearm discomfort. He had hurt his right elbow when he was hit by a pitch on Wednesday … X-rays on Siani were said to be negative … Nick Raposo was added to the 40-man roster and promoted from Memphis to serve as the backup catcher until Willson Contreras returns, which could be as early as Monday. Contreras has been playing at Memphis since Tuesday and was scheduled to catch on Saturday night and DH on Sunday … Burleson’s only previous game as a professional with two homers and five or more RBI came on April 13, 2022 for Memphis, at Charlotte, with he hit two homers and drove in six runs.
Looking ahead: Sonny Gray will get the start on Sunday as the Cardinals try to complete a sweep of the three-game series.