QUEENS, N.Y. — The Cardinals got just what they needed from Adam Wainwright on Saturday to bring an end to their six-game losing streak.
Wainwright turned in his best start of the season, pitching into the seventh inning, and got offensive support from Paul Goldschmidt and Jordan Walker, before turning the game over to the bullpen to close out the victory in New York.
It was the longest outing of the season for Wainwright, who earned his 198th career victory.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s two-run homer, his 12th of the season, capped a three-run second inning for the Cardinals that gave Wainwright an early lead. With one out, Tommy Edman doubled and then scored on a two-out single by Brendan Donovan in front of Goldschmidt’s homer … They increased the lead to 4-1 on Walker’s homer in the third, extending his hitting streak to 10 games, and then scored an insurance run in the ninth on a pinch-hit RBI single from Dylan Carlson … Donovan and Goldschmidt each had two of the Cardinals’ total of eight hits.
On the mound: The 6 1/3 innings from Wainwright was his longest outing of the season. He gave up a home run to Brandon Nimmo on his first pitch of the game and a two-run homer in the fifth, allowing a total of seven hits. He walked two and struck out three en route to winning his third game of the season, leaving after throwing 93 pitches … Andre Pallante relieved and was greeted by a double and walked a hitter with two outs but was able to strand both runners … Giovanny Gallegos pitched around a one-out single in the eighth and Jordan Hicks earned the save, recording three consecutive strikeouts after hitting the leadoff hitter on a 1-2 pitch in the inning. It was Hicks’ first save since June 13, 2019, also against the Mets in New York. He was injured four appearances after that game.
Key stat: Hicks threw 15 pitches in the ninth inning, 10 of which registered at 100 miles per hour or greater. He had made 72 appearances, including eight starts, since his last save.
Worth noting: Carlson was in the original starting lineup but was scratched because of a left elbow contusion, the result of being hit by a pitch on Friday night … Nimmo’s home run on Wainwright’s first pitch of the game marked the third time Wainwright had allowed a home run on his first pitch, also doing that against Junior Lake of the Cubs in 2014 and Adam Frazier with the Pirates in 2019 … The Cardinals announced that David Freese has withdrawn his election from the team’s Hall of Fame. He had been scheduled to be inducted on Aug. 20 along with Jose Oquendo and Max Lanier.
Looking ahead: Matthew Liberatore will get the start on Sunday in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. St. Louis time.
