ST. LOUIS — A five-run ninth inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night in Phoenix, but it came too late to help Adam Wainwright get a victory.
Wainwright, returning from the injured list, worked five innings and was in line for his 199th career victory when he left with a 5-2 lead only to watch the bullpen give up two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh that gave the Diamondbacks a 6-5 lead.
That was the score going to the ninth, when the Cardinals mounted the rally, getting an RBI single from Paul Goldschmidt to tie the game, a bases-loaded walk to Lars Nootbaar that put the Cardinals in front and then a three-run double by Tyler O’Neill to cap the inning.
The win broke the Cardinals' three-game losing streak.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals got a two-run homer from Goldschmidt in the first inning and a solo shot from Nolan Arenado in the fifth, only the second time this season they both have homered in the same game … The Cardinals also scored twice in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Dylan Carlson and an RBI single by Taylor Motter … In the ninth, Paul DeJong led off with a single, Willson Contreras walked with one out and Brendan Donovan singled to load the bases, his third hit of the game, in front of Goldschmidt’s game-tying hit. After Arenado struck out, Nootbaar walked on a 3-2 pitch and O’Neill, who had entered the game for defense in the seventh inning, cleared the bases with his double into the left-field corner.
On the mound: Wainwright was scheduled to throw about 65 pitches but ended up throwing 76 as he got through the fifth inning to qualify for the win. He gave up a run in the first and one in the second but then retired nine batters in a row before giving up a two-out walk and single in the fifth before getting the final out … Chris Stratton and JoJo Romero could not protect the three-run lead, each allowing two runs … Giovanny Gallegos finally got the final out in the seventh and worked around a leadoff single in the eighth … Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth, allowing a leadoff walk and a single, but nailed down the victory.
Key stat: The win was the fourth of the season for the Cardinals in a game they trailed after eight innings. They are now 4-46 in those games.
Worth noting: Activating Wainwright was part of a series of roster moves for the Cardinals before the game. The team optioned Zack Thompson and Ivan Herrera to Memphis and purchased the contract of left-handed reliever Andrew Suarez from the Triple A club. To open a 40-man roster spot for Suarez, Ryan Helsley was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Helsley (forearm) now will be out until the middle of August … The moves returned the roster to 13 pitchers and 13 position players … Both Nolan Gorman (back) and Contreras (hip) were out of the lineup for a second consecutive day, though Contreras pinch hit in the top of the ninth and then caught the bottom of the inning.
Looking ahead: Steven Matz will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains.
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