ST. LOUIS — Monday’s Game Report: Cardinals 9, Marlins 0
There was a lot for Cardinals fans to cheer about on Monday night at Busch Stadium.
Juan Yepez hit two homers and drove in five runs, Paul Goldschmidt also hit a home run as part of a four-hit night, Adam Wainwright threw seven scoreless innings and was relieved by James Naile, a native of Charleston, Mo., making his major-league debut.
It all added up to a big win over the Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s 19th homer came in the first inning, and he added a single in the fourth, an RBI double in the fifth and another single in the seventh for his third four-hit game of the season, his sixth as a Cardinal and the 20th of his career … Yepez hit a three-run homer in the fourth before hitting a two-run shot in the sixth, his eighth and ninth home runs this season … The Cardinal tacked on their last two runs in the eighth on a double by Nolan Gorman, a triple by Dylan Carlson and a wild pitch …Seven of their 11 hits went for extra bases.
On the mound: Wainwright scattered seven hits over his seven innings, walking one and striking out nine in his 190th career victory. He allowed only one runner to reach third base, on a double and wild pitch with two outs in the fifth before he ended the inning with a strikeout … Naile, who had a poster of Wainwright on his wall growing up, took over in the eighth and allowed a single but got out of the inning with a double play. He had been pitching in Memphis after signing as a minor-league free agent over the winter … Jake Woodford worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the Cardinals’ eighth shutout of the season.
Key stat: Of the 26 players on the Cardinals roster for Monday night’s game, 12 of them have spent time in Memphis this season, including five players who were in the starting lineup – Brendan Donovan, Gorman, Yepez, Lars Nootbaar and Ivan Herrera.
Flaherty, Bader to IL: A day after having to come out of his start after two innings, Jack Flaherty went back on the injured list on Monday, leading to questions about whether he had rushed his return to the major-leagues. Flaherty made two minor-league rehab starts before rejoining the Cardinals, where he made three starts, covering eight innings, before he was suffering shoulder stiffness again. The original plan had called for one or two more games in the minors before Flaherty persuaded the Cardinals he was ready. “The nature of this business is to second guess,” said manager Oli Marmol. “I second guess every move I make every day.” The Cardinals are waiting to get the reports of Flaherty’s medical exam before they will have an idea about how long he will be out … Harrison Bader also went on the IL on Monday because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which has been bothering him all season.
Worth noting: Herrera became the 17th catcher that Wainwright has thrown to in his career … To replace Bader, the Cardinals purchased the contract of Conner Capel from Memphis, and he made his ML debut playing left field in the ninth inning … The Cardinals had two spots open on the 40-man roster because of T.J. McFarland and Genesis Cabrera being on the Covid IL … Steven Matz will make a rehab start for Memphis on Tuesday night and he will be followed by Jordan Hicks, who also is scheduled to pitch an inning on Wednesday night. The Cardinals hope Hicks can be activated this weekend.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains