ST. LOUIS — So far this season, there have not been a lot of memorable moments for Paul Goldschmidt. But he had one on Sunday, and it gave the Cardinals a much-needed victory.
With the Cardinals in danger of being swept by the Nationals, Goldschmidt led off the ninth inning in a 3-3 game and delivered a walk-off home run at Busch Stadium.
His 16th homer of the season snapped the Cardinals’ three-game losing streak and gave them only their third win at home in nine games so far in July. Goldschmidt also homered in the first game of the series on Friday night, the 2,000th hit of his career.
The Cardinals had trailed 3-2 before tying the game in the seventh.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Willson Contreras homered in the first inning and the Cardinals added their second run in the second when Lars Nootbaar drew a two-out walk and scored on a triple by Pedro Pages … Pages extended his hitting streak to 13 games … In the seventh, Nootbaar again drew a two-out walk, went to third on a single by Pages and scored on an infield single by Michael Siani that tied the game … Goldschmidt’s homer was the eighth walk-off homer of his career, his fourth with the Cardinals … The Cardinals had only three at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas allowed the three Washington runs in six innings of work … John King and Andrew Kittredge each worked a scoreless inning of relief before Ryan Helsley came in to pitch the ninth in the tie game and allowed a single but still retired the side on just seven pitches.
Worth noting: The Cardinals made their first move before Tuesday’s trade deadline by designating reliever Giovanny Gallegos for assignment. They will now have 48 hours to try to trade Gallegos, who had a 6.57 ERA this season. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for a possible addition before the deadline, which is 5 p.m. St. Louis time on Tuesday … Kyle Leahy was promoted from Memphis to fill Gallegos’ spot in the bullpen instead of Ryan Loutos, despite the fact that Loutos has a 2.04 ERA to go along with 10 saves at Triple A.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals’ last game before the deadline will be on Monday night, when they host the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series. Andre Pallante is the scheduled starter.
Follow Rob Rains on X @RobRains.