MILWAUKEE — Since the start of last season, the Cardinals have wondered what it would be like if Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado got hot at the same time.
They have seen glimpses of it, and they saw it once again on Wednesday night.
The Cardinals’ two cornerstone players both hit two-run homers in a 5-4 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee that pushed them back into first place in the NL Central.
Goldschmidt’s homer in the first inning gave the Cardinals a quick 2-0 lead while Arenado hit his homer in the sixth, a go-ahead blast that followed the Brewers going on top 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
It was the fifth time in their two seasons together with the Cardinals that Goldschmidt and Arenado have homered in the same game. It happened three times in 2021, and also on May 15 this season. The Cardinals have won all five of those games.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s homer, his 17th of the year, followed a one-out single by Dylan Carlson and increased Goldschmidt’s RBI total for the year to 60 in the team’s 71st game (his 67th) … Arenado doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Albert Pujols in the fourth before hitting his 14th home run following a one-out walk to Goldschmidt … Carlson extended his streak to eight consecutive games with a walk.
On the mound: Adam Wainwright made his sixth consecutive start since his last win on May 20. He gave up solo homers to Rowdy Tellez in the first and to Andrew McCutchen in the fourth, who also doubled in a run in the fifth, knocking Wainwright out of the game … Johan Oviedo relieved and retired all seven hitters he faced, earning his first win in the major leagues after beginning his career 0-9 in 24 games, 19 of them starts … Genesis Cabrera worked the final two innings, pitching around a leaoff walk in the eighth and a two-out walk and hit batter in the ninth to earn his first save this season.
Key stat: Goldschmidt has had four days off so far this season, and in his next game back in the lineup, including on Wednesday night, he has hit a home run. In those four games following a day off, he has gone 7-of-15 with the four homers and eight RBIs.
Worth noting: McCutchen’s homer was the third of his career off Wainwright, the first since 2016, and the two RBIs gave him 13 in their head-to-head matchup, the most Wainwright has allowed to any hitter. He is now 24-of-73 (.329) in their long history of facing each other … The Cardinals placed T.J. McFarland on the 10-day IL before the game after he tested positive for Covid. Junior Fernandez was recalled from Memphis.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start in Thursday’s final game of the series and the roadtrip.
