'Hat Gate' Shocked Rookie Reliever, Cards Before Stirring, Ninth-Inning Rally in Win
Cardinals' rookie reliever Hancel Rincon, who was making his MLB debut, was told to straighten up his hat during Friday's sixth inning -- much to the dismay of manager Oliver Marmol and the St. Louis coaching staff. Undeterred, the Cards rallied for the win thanks to Ivan Herrera's blast.
Video Transcript
These St. Louis Cardinals know how to make things interesting, and they surely did that again on Friday night at Coors Field.
The Cardinals led 4-1 at one point.
Next thing you know, they were down 5-4, then 6-4 after a bizarre sequence with home plate umpire Doug Eddings and Cardinal rookie reliever Hansel Rincon, who was making his Major League debut.
In the end, the Cardinals got a 430-foot home run from Yvonne Herrera in the ninth inning to win the game 7-6, and the Cardinals pulled back within three games of the final wildcard spot in the National League playoff chase.
I'm John Denton with Roundtable Sports.
Cardinals led 4-1.
It looked like it was gonna be, an easy win for them.
They brought in Hansel Rincon, a, a relieve-- right-handed reliever who's been pretty good at Memphis this year.
He got his first out on a line drive back up the middle, and then he got hammered pretty good.
He gave up a triple off the wall in right field.
He gave up a inside-the-park home run off the wall in center field.
Then he gave up a double and was taken out of the game.
Things didn't and at one point in there, the game was stopped by home plate umpire Doug Eddings, who asked Rincon to fix his hat.
That did not make Oliver Marmol happy in the slightest, the fact that Eddings was, you know, was, was instructing this 24-year-old reliever in his Major League debut to p- to put his hat on straight.
Marmol eventually went out to discuss his displeasure with Eddings, and then, reliever Justin Bruhl was hit with a time violation because the two -- because the manager and the umpire were talking.
That incensed the Cardinals dugout even more.
Marmol was thrown out of the game, and things didn't get much better.
There was a play at the plate.
There was a bunt by Zack Vean.
Justin Bruhl scooped it with his glove, pitched the ball to catcher, Catcher Leo Bernal, who seemed to tag out the runner, Johnston, on the left forearm, but Eddings called him safe.
The Cardinals, however, did not have a challenge remaining after challenging a, a play earlier in the game at third base.
So, Bruhl ended up giving up another home run in the seventh inning.
And like I said, the Cardinals were down two runs going into the ninth inning.
Thomas Jaicy drew a, a walk.
He stole second, and then Jos Fermn was hustling down the line on a ball to third base.
It caused an error.
Con- Connor Norby had to rush his throw.
It got away.
That put runners on second and third, and then Herrera hit an epic hanging slider that was in the middle of the plate 430 feet.
The ball left the bat at 103.5 miles an hour.
The three-run home run flipped the score and put the Cardinals in the lead.
It was Herrera's 15th home run of the season, and it was the fifth time this season that the Cardinals have gone into the ninth inning trailing and found a way to win.
In- incredible.
It was also the Cardinals' 46th one-run game.
They're 23 and 23 in those one-run games.
One more nugget.
A night after blowing his sixth save of the season, Riley O'Brien was into the game again.
Originally, th-- Manager Oliver Marmol had told O'Brien that he was gonna have the night off.
He was not gonna pitch.
Marmol said after the game that, that, O'Brien called down and said, "If we get the lead, I wanna pitch."
he eventually got in.
He did give up a single and had a throwing error, to put the potential tying run in scoring position.
But, O'Brien got the strikeout to end the game.
It was his 36th save of the season in 43 tries.
So it was good to see, O'Brien get back on the saddle, proverbial saddle, a night after blowing the game in Los Angeles.
Big win for the Cardinals.
That's your Cardinal Round, Roundup for Friday night.
I'm John Denton with roundtable sports
