ST. LOUIS — The bruising liner that caromed off Justin Williams near third base and cost the Cardinals a tying run was not the first or last confounding bounce Saturday, but it was as close as they got to catching the Brewers.
The score got tight briefly, then ugly from there.
Immediately after an umpire ruled that Williams got in the way of Tommy Edman’s single and was out instead of headed home, Milwaukee seized on the Cardinals’ bullpen for a five-run seventh on the way to a 9-5 grating at Busch Stadium. A crowd of 13,304 were present for a couple of calls that needed to be reviewed to be believed, and even then were curious.
In the fifth inning, the Cardinals stirred for their first semblance of offense all afternoon. It took a misplay at first base to goose the Cardinals’ rally and put them 90 feet from tying the game. Catcher Yadier Molina, who singled thrice and reached base four times, started the fifth-inning effort with a leadoff walk. Austin Dean, a midgame replacement due to Tyler O’Neill’s injury (more shortly), followed with a single. Rookie Justin Williams followed with a hard groundball right to first baseman Keston Hiura.
Right under his glove.
Right into right field.
Molina scored easily. Dean dashed home to score from first. Williams got to second as the Cardinals chomped into the Brewers’ 3-0 lead. Williams reached third on pinch-hitter John Nogowski’s groundout. And he was leading off the base, straying just close enough to the base line to make it a tough call for the umpire when Edman’s single caught Williams near his ribs. Williams appeared to be in foul territory as the ball came near. He was leaping as it hit him or soon after, and that brought his foot down in fair territory. That he was close enough at all for their to be a question reveals where he was standing.
The play was not reviewable because it is a boundary call in front of the third-base umpire, Robert Ortiz.
What could have been a foul ball at worst or a tie game at best was instead a single for Edman and an out at third of Williams.
The inning was over.
The rally was done.
The game was Milwaukee’s.
A three-run homer by Hiura off Andrew Miller widened the Brewers’ lead, and a double by Daniel Robertson tested the ground-rule knowledge of everyone present. Robertson’s ball hit the left-field wall and came off with such spin that the bounce took it over and into the Brewers’ bullpen. By universal ground rules, any ball that hits a lower portion of the wall like that and then caroms over is considered a two-base hit. Upon review, Robertson was given a double, not a homer, and upon reprieve the Cardinals allowed only one run in the inning, not two.
The quick six runs on the Cardinals’ relievers gave Milwaukee a seven-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth. Molina again started a rally with a single — his third. Dylan Carlson, inching his way higher in the lineup, walked, and that brought Dean around.
Acquired from Miami before the 2020 season to be a late-inning, right-handed-hitting option akin to Jose Martinez complete with Class AAA success to strengthen the comparison, Dean drilled a pitch into Big Mac Land for three runs and free hamburgers.
Dean will have a longer look in left as a result of O’Neill’s injury in the second. With two runners on base, O’Neill hit a hard groundout, but he seemed to be slow moving from home to first. He was replaced that inning by Dean in left and an official with the team said O’Neill had tightness in his right groin. If the injury moves Dean onto the injured list, the Cardinals could turn to Lane Thomas as another active outfielder fending for playing time.
Brewers starter Adrian Houser did not allow an earned run in his six innings, and he bopped around four walks and six hits to keep the Cardinals subdued.
Carlos Martinez played a costly game of dodge ball in the first inning.
Financially, at least.
The Brewers tagged him for one run and four hits, and one of those hits glanced off his shoulder or collarbone and snapped a gold chain. Six batters into the inning and Martinez had a 1-0 deficit and the bases loaded. Two of the four hits that loaded the bases didn’t leave the infield. With Kolten Wong’s replacement at second base, Jace Peterson, at the plate, Martinez worked him through a nine-pitch at-bat. At the point in spring training when the Cardinals would rollover innings to get a starter out of a jam, Martinez had to press through.
On his 26th pitch, he took Peterson to a full count.
Peterson would see a total of nine pitches in the at-bat before bouncing out to first base to end the inning. To get the out, Martinez reared back for a 94-mph fastball on his 29th and final pitch of the inning.
He’d get more efficient from there and eventually effective, too. The right-hander’s only spotless inning came in his fourth inning. The fifth inning did not go as smoothly. After a single against the shift by Christian Yelich, outfielder Avisail Garcia drilled a two-run homer to center field that extended the Brewers’ lead to 3-0. Martinez would finish the inning to pocket five innings, but overall he’d continue the run of Cardinals starters not providing quality starts and leaving the bullpen to carry the remainder.
Martinez allowed three runs on eight hits and did not walk a batter.
He also only struck out one batter.
Martinez (0-2) has not won a game as a starter since 2018, and he’s 0-5 in his seven starts since serving as the Cardinals’ closer to end the 2019 season.
