DENVER — Thursday’s Game Report: Rockies 10, Cardinals 8
Growing up in Colorado, Kyle Leahy always hoped he would get a chance to pitch in a game at Coors Field – and that opportunity came in the eighth inning on Thursday.
It just didn’t work out the way he had hoped.
Leahy relieved with the Cardinals and Rockies tied 8-8 but was greeted by an RBI double on his first pitch and he then gave up another double that capped a five-run inning and sent the Rockies to the victory.
The Rockies’ rally from an 8-5 deficit began after Ryan Fernandez had struck out the first two batters in the inning, then gave up a double, single, walk and another double before Leahy replaced him on the mound.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Cardinals,
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals hit four home runs, including back-to-back shots from Lars Nootbaar and Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning, the first time this season the Cardinals have hit consecutive homers … Ivan Herrera added a solo homer in the fifth and Pedro Pages hit a two-run homer in the eighth that had increased the Cardinals lead from 6-5 to 8-5 … Jordan Walker added a pair of doubles and Nootbaar also had a double, giving the Cardinals seven extra-base hits among their 12 hits in the game … Victor Scott II got the start in center field and singled twice … The Cardinals were just 1-of-9 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound: Kyle Gibson made his final start of the season and allowed five runs over four innings … Steven Matz worked two scoreless innings in relief and John King and Fernandez worked a scoreless seventh before Fernandez and Leahy ran into their troubles in the eighth.
Key stat: Goldschmidt took over the team lead with his 22nd home run of the season. He had been tied with Alec Burleson, who has not hit a home run since Aug. 17, a span of 120 at-bats.
Worth noting: The Cardinals were trying to sweep a series in Colorado for the first time since 2004 … They also were trying to match their season-high five-game winning streak, set from May 20-26 … Cardinals relievers combined had allowed only one run over six innings in the first two games of the series … This was the third time this season the Cardinals lost a game despite scoring eight or more runs (15-3 in those games).
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will close out the season with three games this weekend against the Giants in San Francisco. Miles Mikolas is scheduled to start the opener on Friday night.
