ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals’ offense woke up from its four-day slumber just in time to salvage the final game of their four-game series against the Mets on Sunday at Busch Stadium.
Paul Goldschmidt had three of their 15 hits, including a two-run homer, as the Cardinals snapped their four-game losing streak in which they had been outscored 32-5 in one game against Oakland and three against the Mets.
When Goldschmidt hit his 20th home run of the season in the fifth inning it gave the Cardinals their first lead in their last 41 innings.
A four-run seventh inning put the game away.
The Cardinals had more hits (five) with a runner in scoring position than they had recorded in the previous four games (four) in which they had a collective .192 average with 25 hits in 130 at-bats.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s homer followed a double by Alec Burleson and wiped out a 2-1 lead for the Mets … Goldschmidt also had driven in the Cardinals first run with their third consecutive single in the third … The four-run seventh included an RBI single by Willson Contreras and a run-scoring double by Jordan Walker before the inning was capped by a two-run single by Richie Palacios, getting his second consecutive start in center. Earlier in the game Palacios had taken a home run away from D.J. Stewart with a leaping catch … Masyn Winn had a pair of singles in four at-bats.
On the mound: Dakota Hudson pitched into the sixth inning, allowing two runs on five hits, one Pete Alonso’s second homer in as many games. He struck out seven, including four of the game’s first five hitters … The other Mets run came in the eighth with Giovanny Gallegos on the mound as he allowed a runner he inherited from Andre Pallante to score.
Key stat: Cardinals’ starters have won seven of the team’s 18 games in August, with Hudson getting four of them. In the last month, since July 21, the starters have won eight of the team’s 28 games – half by Hudson.
Worth noting: Dylan Carlson is scheduled to visit a specialist to help determine if he should undergo season-ending surgery on his ankle. Carlson, now on the IL with an oblique strain, has been bothered by the ankle since he sprained it on at-bat in the middle of May in Boston … Nolan Gorman says his back is better and he will be going on the road trip this week and expects to be activated from the IL when he is eligible on Friday … Matthew Liberatore, who was supposed to start on Monday night, will now pitch on Wednesday after experiencing back discomfort following his last start … Wilking Rodriguez, on the IL all season, is set to report to Jupiter, Fla., on Monday to begin a rehab assignment.
Looking ahead: With Liberatore’s start delayed, the Cardinals will promote lefthander Drew Rom from Memphis to start on Monday night in the opener of the three-game series in Pittsburgh. It will be his major-league debut. Rom was acquired from Baltimore in the deal that sent Jack Flaherty to the Orioles. In his two starts at Memphis, he allowed only two runs over 11 innings while recording 18 strikeouts.
