ST. LOUIS — The best birthday present Giovanny Gallegos received on Monday came from Jordan Walker.
Gallegos gave up three runs in the top of the seventh inning against the A’s, two of which were inherited runners, before Walker’s bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the inning flipped the score and gave the Cardinals the win at Busch Stadium.
Walker’s first career triple, which glanced off the glove of right fielder Seth Brown, followed four walks in the inning and came with two outs and the Cardinals losing 5-4.
Even though Gallegos was the pitcher of record at the time, the official scorer credited the win to JoJo Romero, who recorded the final four outs of the game.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer, his 19th of the season, and reached base in all five plate appearances. He drew three of the season-high 10 walks the Cardinals received in the game and also had a single, stole a base and scored twice … Tommy Edman had two hits for the fourth consecutive game, one of which was an RBI single … Lars Nootbaar drew the bases-loaded walk in the seventh that pulled the Cardinals within a run in front of Walker’s triple … Luken Baker, recalled from Memphis on Saturday, started at DH and went 0-of-4, striking out three times.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas allowed three hits through the first six innings, one of which was a two-run homer in the fifth. He was pulled after allowing back-to-back two-out singles in the seventh, with the Cardinals leading 3-2 … Gallegos retired the first batter he faced, then gave up a double and single good for three runs, two of which were charged to Mikolas, which put him in line for the loss before the Cardinals’ rally … Gallegos’ blown save was the 25th of the season for the Cardinals … Romero relieved Drew VerHagen with two outs in the eighth and got the final out of the inning, then pitched around his own two-base throwing error in the ninth.
Key stat: According to the Cardinals, Walker’s triple was their first with the bases loaded at home since Shane Robinson did it on July 24, 2013 versus the Phillies and it was also their first go-ahead triple with the bases loaded in the seventh inning or later since Yadier Molina hit one on July 22, 2015 in a road game against the White Sox.
Worth noting: The Cardinals announced before the game that Steven Matz was going on the injured list because of a lat strain suffered in his start on Saturday in Kansas City. He is expected to miss at least several weeks and potentially could be out the rest of the season … The injury news continued later in the evening as Nolan Gorman was scratched from the lineup because of tightness in his lower back, an issue that has bothered him all season, and then Willson Contreras had to come out of the game after the third inning because of tightness in his right hip, which came while running the bases in that inning … The corresponding move to Matz going on the injured list will be announced on Tuesday … Zack Thompson will replace Matz in the rotation … Jake Woodford and Ryan Helsley, both of whom pitched on Sunday night in Springfield, will continue their rehab assignments this week in Memphis.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start in the 6:45 game on Tuesday, the second game of the three-game series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains.
Want more local sports delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the 5 On Your Side Sports Plus newsletter.