ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With Kyle Gibson having thrown 91 pitches through six innings, the Cardinals had a decision to make: Let Gibson go back out for the seventh or go to the bullpen.
They elected to bring in Kyle Leahy from the bullpen, and that turned out to be the wrong choice.
A leadoff walk, a single and a sacrifice fly cut the Cardinals lead over the Rays to 4-3 and ended Leahy’s night. One pitch after JoJo Romero relieved Leahy, the night was essentially over for the Cardinals.
Brandon Lowe hit Romero’s first pitch just out of the reach of a leaping Victor Scott II, flipping the game with a two-run homer that sent the Rays to the victory and kept the Cardinals from completing a sweep of the three-game series at Busch Stadium.
The Rays added another run off the bullpen in the ninth inning.
Here is how Thursday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals took a 3-2 lead in the first inning with Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt driving in the runs … Arenado also singled and scored on a single by Goldschmidt in the third, which snapped his 0-of-19 streak … That was part of a three-hit night for Arenado, who also reached base on a walk … After Goldschmidt’s single in the third, the Cardinals were hitless in five at-bats with a runner in scoring position and left six runners on either second or third … Winn and Scott II each had two-hit nights.
On the mound: Gibson gave up a single and double on his first two pitches of the game followed by a two-out, first-pitch single from Dylan Carlson that drove in both runs … That was all Gibson allowed, however, as he got out of the first inning and then scattered four hits over the next five innings, walking one and striking out six … Closer Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge were not available to pitch on Thursday night, with the Rays getting their final run in the ninth when John King allowed a runner he inherited from Shawn Armstrong to score.
Key stat: Gibson has allowed 14 runs in the first inning in his 22 starts, and combined with 16 runs allowed in the second inning, has an ERA through two innings of 6.14. He has allowed a total of 26 runs in all other innings that he has pitched.
Worth noting: Gibson has not been involved in the decision in four of his last five starts, with his last win coming on July 7. He had thrown 96 or more pitches in each of his previous five starts … Gibson has not won a game at Busch Stadium since May 17 … Goldschmidt and Arenado each stole a base in the same game for the second time as teammates … The loss left the Cardinals seven games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and 2 ½ games out of the final wild-card playoff spot.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start on Friday night when the Cardinals begin a short two-game series against the Royals in Kansas City.