Cardinals Blow Seven-Run Lead, Collapse Under Avalanche of Errors in Loss
The Cardinals saw a seven-run lead disappear after two bases-loaded walks, a misplay in the outfield and a clutch, two-run homer by Arizona third baseman Nolan Arenado, 13 stranded runners and an error on the basepaths in an 8-7 loss to the Dbacks.
Video Transcript
Losses don't get much uglier than the one the St. Louis Cardinals suffered in the desert on Sunday, losing 8-7 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Not only did they blow a seven-run lead, not only did they lose a game that cost them the season series against a team that they will be likely going down to the wire against trying to win a wild card, but this was the manner of how they lost.
This was an avalanche of absolute errors.
Oliver Marmol said it best after the game, "We didn't deserve to win that game."
I'm John Denton with Roundtable Sports.
Yes, the Cardinals, got out to a big lead, o- on Sunday.
Blaze Jordan had three hits and three RBI.
Alec Burleson had three hits and two RBI.
Avon Herrera had three hits.
Jordan Walker drove in his 76th run.
Lars Nootbaar walked four times.
It was all shaping up to be a great day for the Cardinals, and then things fell apart.
Absolutely fell apart in the worst kinda ways.
Let's count the ways.
Cardinal pitchers walked in two runs, one by Andre Pallante, one by Ryan Stanek.
Jose Fermin, who's been a, a, a great utility player for the Cardinals this season, bouncing around, showed too much aggression charging a, a sinking liner.
Ball gets under his glove, it goes all the way around for a Little League homer.
Originally, it was ruled a single and a three-base error on Fermin.
Eventually, it was changed to an inside the park home run.
Personally, I think they should've stuck with the original ruling.
You know, w- with a big lead in that game, you can't come barreling in on that.
You gotta play that and keep that ball in front of you.
So that led to two more runs.
The Cardinals stranded 13 runners on the day.
That usually always comes back to bite you.
Gordon Graceffo threw the one pitch, hung the one pitch that you can't hang to Nolan Arenado.
He hung a slider right in the middle of the plate.
Arenado hits it for a two-run home run to tie the game in the eighth inning.
You know, we all know Arenado has had the clutch gene his whole career.
F- five years of watching him in St. Louis, Cardinal fans know that the guy could be very clutch.
That was the 1,999th career hit for Arenado, and it tied the game.
Diamondbacks, once down, 7-0, tied the game 7-7.
But it didn't even end there.
At that point in the 10th inning, the Cardinals had runners on first and third.
Brian Torres, a guy who spent 11 years trying to get to the big leagues, got doubled off on a pop-up on the infield.
That just, you know, inexcusable.
Can't happen.
And then i- in the bottom of the 10th, Luis Castellum, who's a rookie who's being forced to, to pitch in big spots, after JoJo Romero suffered appendicitis.
You know, he left a, he left a, a changeup in the middle of the plate again.
You, he, you know, he has a great changeup.
He's had great effectiveness at every level.
But at this level, you can't throw the changeup in the middle of the plate, and it got, it got hammered for a double, and Arizona wins.
The truly devastating part of this for the Cardinals is Arizona now wins the season series.
If the Cardinals had won today, that would've made it 3-3 going back to St. Louis on Thursday for that makeup game.
The rainout game, from the series in St. Louis, that game is now gonna be played at 4:00 local time on Thursday.
That game doesn't matter anymore.
The Diamondbacks have already locked up the season series now 4-2 over the Cardinals.
So if the Cardinals and Diamondbacks are fighting it out for that final playoff spot at the end of September, and they finish tied, the Diamondbacks now have the edge because of the, the season series.
The Cardinals would've won today, would've made it 3-3 on the season.
They could've gone for the kill on Thursday at home.
However, that's out of the window now.
They've gotta outplay the Diamondbacks down the stretch and make sure they finish ahead of them in the standings.
So this was a tough one.
Oliver Marmol's young team, we're gonna see how well they bounce back.
They've bounced back all season.
But man, this was, this was rough on so many for, you know, walking in the runs, grooving a, a slider to Nolan Arenado, a base running error, a bad defensive play in left field.
That did, you know That's very uncharacteristic of this Cardinal team.
They haven't given games away like this this season.
It's really gonna test their mettle, test their ability to bounce back.
So, you know, a rough, horrible loss that they will now try to bounce back on Monday night when they play the Angels in Anaheim.
I'm John Denton with Roundtable Sports.
