ST. LOUIS — Jordan Walker hit his first home run of the season at Busch Stadium on Friday night but unfortunately that was the extent of the Cardinals’ offense for the evening.
Walker’s home run came wih two outs in the seventh inning when the Cardinals trailed 3-0 in what turned out to be a loss to the Mariners on the opening night of their three-game series.
The Cardinals had just four other hits in the game, all singles, and went from the second to the eighth inning without putting a runner on second base.
The loss dropped the Cardinals to six games out of the race for the third wildcard spot in the playoffs, trailing the Mets, Braves and Cubs with 21 games left in the regular season.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals were shut out on three hits by the Mariners’ Bryce Miller in his six innings of work … The only inning when they were able to put two runners on base was the first, on a walk to Alec Burleson and a two-out single by Nolan Arenado before Brendan Donovan grounded out … Paul Goldschmidt was 0-of-4 to snap his 11-game hitting streak … The Cardinals were 0-of-4 with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Erick Fedde had to pitch around a lot of traffic in the first four innings but kept the Mariners from scoring until they loaded the bases on a hit batter, an infield hit and a walk in front of Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly in the fifth … Fedde fell to 1-5 in his seven starts since being traded to the Cardinals … Matthew Liberatore gave up a two-run homer in the sixth before Seattle put the game away with three runs in the ninth off Kyle Leahy.
Key stat: Since the All-Star break the Cardinals have gone 1-7 in the opening game of a series at Busch Stadium and dating back to June 26, they have lost the first game of a series 10 times in 11 games.
Worth noting: The Cardinals announced Friday that Gary LaRocque, the director of player development for the last 12 years, will retire at the end of this season. LaRocque, who had worked for the Cardinals since 2008, will serve as a consultant to the team in 2025 … Outfielder Chase Davis, the Cardinals’ first-round pick in the 2024 draft, was promoted from Peoria to Springfield on Friday so he can play for the Double A team during the upcoming playoffs … Nolan Gorman homered for the second night in a row at Memphis … The Cardinals Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set for Saturday afternoon at Ballpark Village, with Matt Morris, Dave Duncan and Whitey Kurowski set to be enshrined as this year’s class.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson will get the start on Saturday night in the second game of the series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
