ST. LOUIS — “Whitey Ball” reappeared at Busch Stadium in all its 1980s glories Thursday night.
In the first two innings, Cardinals runners Paul Goldschmidt and Harrison Bader went from first to third on batted balls that stayed on the infield. Tommy Edman raced from first to third on Goldschmidt’s bloop single in the first.
Tyler O’Neill stroked sacrifice flies in both innings as the Cardinals knocked out, softly, Arizona Diamondbacks starter Humberto Castellanos after two innings.
But “Whitey Ball,” so named after Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog, also featured efficient starting pitching. Dakota Hudson was more than efficient. He didn’t allow a hit until the sixth and then only one over six innings as he set the tone for a one-sided 8-3 victory.
The sinker baller’s previous start had been almost as impressive. He gave up just two hits in 6 2/3 innings at Cincinnati last Saturday in a 5-0 victory.
Edman walked to start the first-inning, two-run rally, which also featured another sacrifice fly, by Corey Dickerson.
Bader and former Arizona star Goldschmidt had two of the three hits in a three-run second inning. To sum up: Five singles, three sacrifice flies, one walk, one hit batsman, at least two extra bases taken, five runs in two innings.
No one much seemed to notice that the Cardinals were going an eighth consecutive game without a home run. They were singularly impressive, though, as all their 15 hits were singles, including backup infielder Brendan Donovan's first career hit, a single to right in the eighth.
Three of those 15 singles came in a three-run sixth inning as the Cardinals mixed in the prime staple of “Whitey Ball,” the stolen base. League leader Bader stole his fifth of the season and Yadier Molina the 70th of his career after both had singled. Edman also moved up a base after his second hit on center fielder Daulton Varsho’s off-line throw to the infield.
This set up a two-run single by Goldschmidt, who had three runs batted in and three hits on Thursday and has had 15 hits in a seven-game hitting streak, 13 of them singles and two doubles.
The Cardinals' record for hits in a game without an extra-base hit is 16.
With an assist from center fielder Bader, who banged into the wall to snag Pavin Smith’s third-inning blast, Hudson allowed nothing other than two walks over the first five frames, netting six of his outs on ground balls.
Varsho singled to right with one out in the Arizona sixth for the D-backs’ first hit. Hudson then issued his third walk, to Smith.
Dangerous David Peralta, a former pitcher in the Cardinals’ system, flied to deep center, sending Varsho to third but Hudson emerged unscathed in the inning when shortstop Paul DeJong, after he bobbled Christian Walker’s grounder, threw out the cleanup man to end the inning.
At 84 pitches on a rainy night, Hudson gave way to right-hander Aaron Brooks, who had a perfect seventh inning. But Nick Ahmed beat out an infield hit in the eighth as second baseman Edman backhanded the ball on the outfield grass and Smith lined a 408-foot homer off Brooks for the first two Arizona runs in the eighth.
Former Cardinal Carson Kelly's two-out single shoved home the D-backs' final run in the ninth off Brooks, who needed last-out help from Nick Wittgren, who allowed a double and a walk before getting Varsho on a called third strike.
Arizona had entered the game having taken the final two games of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But it was no match for the Cardinals, who have a 99-61 career record against the Diamondbacks.
