ST. LOUIS — The save was officially credited to Ryan Helsley on Friday night, but the Cardinals’ outfielders definitely qualified for an assist.
Brendan Donovan turned in two outstanding catches in left field, including one at the wall that ended the game, and Alec Burleson also had a highlight-reel catch in right to help preserve a shutout win over the Reds at Busch Stadium.
The only run of the game scored on a sacrifice fly – to short center field caught by Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
The save extended Helsley’s streak of consecutive saves to 29 and allowed the Cardinals to reach the halfway point in the season with a 42-39 record.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The game’s only run scored in the third. Michael Siani led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on Donovan’s groundout and after Willson Contreras walked, scored on the short fly ball hit by Burleson … Siani’s double was one of only two hits by the Cardinals through the seventh inning, before they added two singles in the eighth … They were 0-of-5 with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Andre Pallante pitched into the sixth inning, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth … He left with two runners on base and one out in the sixth, but Donovan’s first great catch of the night and a strikeout got Ryan Fernandez out of the inning … JoJo Romero issued a leadoff walk in the eighth, but Burleson’s catch helped him pitch around that walk … Helsley retired the first two batters in the ninth before Stuart Fairchild’s bid for a game-tying home run was caught at the wall by Donovan to end the game.
Key stat: This was only the third time since 1993 that the Cardinals won a game 1-0 with the only run scoring on a sacrifice fly. The most recent time that happened was on July 25, 2015 against the Braves. The other win came in 2004.
Worth noting: The Cardinals promoted righthander Gordon Graceffo from Memphis before the game and said he will pitch out of the bullpen. Graceffo, signed by scout Jim Negrych, was a fifth-round selection from Villanova in 2021. Graceffo had gone 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA this month for Memphis … To make room for Graceffo on the roster Kyle Leahy was optioned to Memphis and Steven Matz was moved to the 60-day injured list … When Graceffo makes his first appearance, he will be the fifth pitcher to make his MLB debut for the Cardinals this season and the seventh player overall … Lars Nootbaar began a rehab assignment Friday night at Double A Springfield and was hitless in three at-bats, striking out once … Jordan Walker hit his fourth home run for Memphis, all this month, at Gwinnett.
Looking ahead: Sonny Gray, who carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last start, will pitch in Saturday’s 1:15 p.m. game.
