ST. LOUIS — One example is all that is needed to describe what kind of night it was for the Cardinals on Thursday night at Busch Stadium.
During the eighth inning, they had infielder Brandon Crawford warming up in the bullpen in advance of coming in to pitch the ninth against the Reds.
What happened? The Cardinals scored twice, and Crawford had to sit down. The MLB rule is that a position player can’t be used as a pitcher unless a team is losing by eight or more runs.
When Crawford began to warm up, the Cardinals were losing 11-2.
The two runs kept Crawford from pitching, but didn’t keep the Cardinals from losing the opener of a four-game series. The outcome of the game was determined early, as the Reds pounded out 12 hits and 10 runs off starter Miles Mikolas.
It was only the second time in 167 career starts for Mikolas that he has allowed that many runs and hits in a game.
The Reds scored in six of the first seven innings, and eight of their nine starters had at least one RBI in the game.
Here is how Thursday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals drew six walks through the first four innings but only one scored, when Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer in the third. That was the only hit for the Cardinals until Willson Contreras beat out an infield single in the fifth, at which point the Cardinals were losing 7-2 … The two runs in the eighth came with two outs on a triple by Michael Siani and back-to-back doubles by Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson … Pedro Pages also had his first career triple, in the ninth.
On the mound: The Reds put the leadoff hitter on base in four of the first five innings against Mikolas and each time he came around to score. Of the Reds 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings off Mikolas, eight went for extra bases; a home run, a triple and six doubles … John King allowed the other run for the Reds before Giovanny Gallegos worked 1 2/3 innings and Ryan Fernandez, instead of Crawford, worked a 1-2-3 ninth.
Key stat: Mikolas had allowed a total of 10 runs over his previous four starts, covering a combined 31 1/3 innings. This was his shortest outing since going 4 1/3 innings on opening day in Los Angeles.
Worth noting: The only other start in his career in which Mikolas allowed 10 runs and 12 or more hits was on Aug. 9, 2022 at Colorado … Arenado’s home run was his second in 145 plate appearances at Busch Stadium. It was the Cardinals first home run in a span of 142 at-bats … Lars Nootbaar, recovering from an oblique injury that has sidelined him since May 31, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Friday night at Double A Springfield.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will reach the halfway point of the season with their 81st game on Friday night. Andre Pallante is scheduled to start the second game of the 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.
