ST. LOUIS — Baseball observers who believe that a win doesn’t truly measure an individual pitcher’s performance got more evidence for their argument on Tuesday night.
Adam Wainwright turned in a start for the ages against the Padres at Busch Stadium – but through no fault of his own, did not get a victory to show for it.
Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings, allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out 10, leaving the game with a 2-0 lead.
He lost the victory an inning later, however, when Trent Grisham tied the game with a two-run homer off Giovanny Gallegos.
The game stayed tied until the 10th – and Lars Nootbaar made sure it stayed that way by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the top of the 10th and set the stage for Albert Pujols’ game-winning sacrifice fly, which followed Tommy Edman stealing third base.
The win allowed the Cardinals to move to a season-high seven games over .500 at 28-21.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the third when Paul Goldschmidt doubled in Brenden Donovan, who had reached on a walk, and later scored on the first sacrifice fly of the night from Pujols … The hit extended Goldschmidt’s hitting streak to 22 games, the longest by a Cardinal since Joe McEwing had a 25-game streak in 2008 … Earlier Goldschmidt’s first-inning walk had extended his streak of reaching base safely to 36 consecutive games, the longest streak since Matt Holliday had a 47-game streak in 2015 … The RBI was the 33rd of the month for Goldschmidt, the most by a Cardinal in any month since Pujols drove in 35 runs in June of 2009 … Edmundo Sosa gave the Cardinals a chance to win the game in the ninth with a one-out double, but he was stranded there.
On the mound: The only hits off Wainwright came from Luke Voit, who singled in the second and also singled in the seventh. The only other baserunner allowed by Wainwright came on a two-out walk in the second. He retired 14 consecutive batters after the walk until Voit singled in the seventh. Wainwright threw a season-high 115 pitches … Gallegos allowed a one-out double before the homer by Grisham… Ryan Helsley pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth and in the 10th, Drew VerHagen gave up a walk and a single but was bailed out by Nootbaar’s throw, which helped him get credit for the victory.
Key stat: The double was the 13th of the month for Goldschmidt and his 23rd extra-base hit, which broke the franchise record for May of 22 that had been set by Stan Musial in 1954 and matched by Albert Pujols in 2003.
Worth noting: Jack Flaherty threw a second live batting practice session before the game and how he recovers will determine if the team wants him to throw one more session or if he is ready to begin a rehab assignment in the minor leagues … The Cardinals had hoped that Tyler O’Neill would be able to begin his minors rehab assignment as soon as Wednesday, but he still experienced soreness in his shoulder while throwing on Tuesday so his assignment will be delayed until at least Friday.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start on Wednesday’s 12:15 p.m. game as the Cardinals try to complete the sweep of the three-game series.