ST. LOUIS — Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 8, Brewers 3
Only time will tell how long their careers in the major leagues will last, and all of the things they will accomplish along the way, but history will show that childhood friends Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore shared a day they will never forget on Saturday at Busch Stadium.
Gorman hit his first homer, part of a four-hit, four-RBI game, which helped Liberatore earn his first victory in his second career start as the Cardinals pounded the Brewers.
“It just keeps getting crazier,” Liberatore said of their combined journey. “I think that was a very fitting way for it to have gone down today. It’s something I look forward to seeing a lot more of.
“He’s going to go out there and produce even on the days that I’m not pitching but if he can do it on the days that I am on the mound it will make it all that much better.”
Gorman’s first-inning homer went over the Cardinals’ bullpen, a blast measured at 449 feet. He followed that up with a two-run single in the third, an RBI double in the fourth and another single in the sixth. He became the first player in franchise history to have a four-hit, four-RBI game in one of his first 10 games in the majors.
“The cannons scared me a little bit going around second base,” Gorman said about his home run trot. “It was a super electric feeling and super fun.”
The big days for Gorman and Liberatore came with their parents in the stands watching.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Gorman said. “Waino told us to be our own person, but it’s been a fun ride with him. It’s exciting and we’re ready to keep going.”
The two even got indoctrinated together into the Cardinals’ tradition of honoring big first-time moments with a trip to the shower that includes being doused with a variety of substances. Gorman said he knew he got applesauce in his ear, among other unidentified things.
He also got the ball from his first homer. Liberatore did not come away with a specific souvenir, but he was OK with that.
“I’ve got the memory,” he said. “That’s all I need.”
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Gorman wasn’t the only Cardinal to enjoy a big day. Paul Goldschmidt also drove in four runs, hitting a three-run homer in the third and driving in his fourth run with a single in the fourth. Goldschmidt now has at least one hit in his last 19 games and has been on base with either a hit or walk in his last 32 games … His homer was the 21st extra-base hit in May for Goldschmidt, who has 30 RBIs in May with three games left in the month … Gorman also scored three runs as he and Goldschmidt cominbed for seven of the team’s 12 hits … This was the seventh time in their pro careers Gorman homered in a game when Liberatore started. He did it three times earlier this year in Memphis and three times there last season.
On the mound: In his second career start and first at Busch Stadium, Liberatore allowed just two hits, walked three and struck out six in his five innings. He needed 93 pitches to get through the fifth, only 57 of which were strikes. It was the sixth time in the last seven games the Cardinals has not gone more than five innings … Jake Woodford relieved Liberatore, taking him out of the running to start Monday’s game. The Cardinals have not listed a starter for the series opener against the Padres. Woodford worked three innings, allowing only a solo homer, before T.J. McFarland pitched the ninth inning, allowing a two-run homer.
Key stat: This was the first time the Cardinals had two players drive in four runs in the same game since Aledmys Diaz and Jhonny Peralta did it on Sept. 27, 2016 against the Reds.
Worth noting: Goldschmidt’s longest career hitting streak is 26 games – the final 19 games of the 2013 season and the first seven games in 2014 … The last player on the Cardinals to get a hit in 20 consecutive games was David Freese in 2013 … The last Cardinal with 30 RBIs in a month was Carlos Beltran in May of 2012 … Goldschmidt’s career best montyh was 31 RBIs in August 2017 when he was with the Diamondbacks.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start on Sunday in the final game of the four-game series.
