Four hours, 25 minutes later Sunday, the Cardinals finally reached the two-thirds mark of the season in first place by two games in the National League Central Division standings. That means 108 games have been played and 54 remain, but the Cardinals’ record when they’re in first place at this point of a season is gaudy.
After they completed a three-game series sweep of the New York Yankees with a 12-9 victory in a record length for a nine-inning game at Busch Stadium III, the Cardinals’ winning streak had reached seven games. And they are a season-high 12 games over the break-even mark, 60-48.
Since 2000, the Cardinals have won 10 division championships. On eight of those occasions, they were in first place after 108 games played — in 2019, 2015, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002 and 2000. And 38 of their 54 remaining games this year are against sub-.500 teams.
“We’ve got to continue to play like we’re playing the Yankees,” said Paul DeJong, whose three-run homer in the eighth inning gave the Cardinals a little breathing room.
The Yankees lost their fifth game in succession and were swept in a three-game series for the first time this season. They were swept by the Cardinals for the first time ever in a three-game series.
The only other time in their histories that the Cardinals had won three games in succession from the Yankees in the same year came in the 1942 World Series when the Cardinals won the final four games after losing the first game.
“They kept us in the ballpark other than DJ (LeMahieu) at the very end, and that’s the difference,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was dismissed early by home-plate umpire Ed Hickox, who had a rough time with ball-and-strike complaints from both teams and then was tagged in the mask by a foul tip. He was held up by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina before collapsing to the ground.
“It was a tough day in many different aspects for (Hickox),” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
The Cardinals hadn’t had a homer in the first two games of the series, either. Then Nolan Arenado cracked a three-run homer in the second inning Sunday and DeJong his three-run blast into Big Mac Land in the eighth. Each drove in four runs.
After a 1-0 game on Saturday, the teams had combined for 10 runs by the end of the second inning Sunday.
“Sunday night game over, yet?” joked Marmol afterward.
Asked how many games it seemed the teams had played Sunday, Marmol replied, “Six. That was a fun one. But definitely a grind for both sides.”
There were relievers who weren’t going to be employed by the Cardinals because of recent usage. Giovanny Gallegos, Andre Pallante and Genesis Cabrera were “down,” Marmol said. “And (Jordan) Hicks, we were trying to stay away from.”
Hicks, who had struck out three in 1⅓ innings on Saturday night, told Marmol before the game he thought he could get one out. But after first baseman Paul Goldschmidt helped with a diving stop to end the sixth, Hicks told Marmol in the dugout that he had another inning in him.
Did he ever. In the seventh, Hicks pitched the first 1-2-3 inning in the game, fanning Aaron Judge, who knocked in four runs, in the process.
“Whatever the team needs,” Hicks said.
The game was so unusual that Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, trying to hold on in the fourth inning, wanted to walk Judge intentionally with one out once the count went to 2-0, even though he represented the tying run. Marmol concurred. And Wainwright got out of the inning.
Goldschmidt, who is the MVP leader in his league, as is Judge is in the American League, is a good fielder, besides his hitting exploits. Marmol, asked what the score would have been if Goldschmidt not been at first to save two hits, replied, “I think we’re still playing.”
And how is this for unusual? DeJong has six hits in eight games since returning from a two-month option to Memphis. Three have been doubles and three for homers, totaling 10 runs batted in.
“I want to be the steady shortstop for this team,” DeJong said, who added he was prepared for a long one Sunday. “I knew they weren’t going to go down quietly after losing the first two games. That was one of the memorable games I’ve played here.”
Outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who was at Memphis for some of DeJong’s time there, said, "He went down there and handled himself like a true pro. He never complained, never did any of that. Didn't feel sorry for himself — he went down there and worked and worked hard. And to see it pay off for him, it couldn't happen to a better guy.”
Wainwright still is stuck on eight wins. But he also is stuck on eight losses even though he lasted just four innings, throwing 111 pitches. He cared little about his performance.
“Sweeping a team is almost impossible,” he said. “Sweeping a team like the New York Yankees seems like next to almost impossible. Like, really hard. That’s what I came in here to do. But there were some moments in that game if I had let it swing out of hand, it could have been real bad. There were a couple of jams that could have gone sideways on me and our team loses that game.
“I hold my head high. But that was one of the top three hottest games (mid-90s with a heat index reaching 107) that I’ve ever been a part of.”
Arenado, who erased two Yankees leads, agreed that he was playing in for a bunt when Aaron Hicks slapped a ball past the third baseman to set up a three-run Yankees second inning. Hicks, nothing for his past 32, had tried to bunt earlier in the at-bat but third baseman Arenado allowed the ball to roll foul.
“I was covering the bunt,” he said. “That was a pretty sweet knock.”
But Arenado cracked his three-run homer in the second and fired his fist excitedly once he had crossed the plate.
“It was just great to see us answer back,” he said. “In the first half (of the season), we would have had trouble rallying there. It’s great to see us fighting.”
The Busch crowds got their money’s worth, no matter how long it took Sunday.
“I’m just happy we have a day off tomorrow,” Arenado said. “If we needed a day off, tomorrow would be the day.
“That was a rough one.”
