The same swings that carried the Cardinals to a sixth consecutive win and a victory in the first half of Wednesday’s doubleheader turned the nightcap against them and showcased how even with all the tinkering there’s a truism of modern baseball, from box score to arbitration hearing.
Power plays.
The Pauls – Goldschmidt and DeJong – each homered in the first game to lift the Cardinals to a 4-1 victory against the Mets in Game 1 at Busch Stadium. The Mets answered with two home runs in Game 2 to split the doubleheader with a 7-2 victory. Both of the Mets’ homers came off rookie Johan Oviedo, who rejoined the rotation Tuesday in time to help the team navigate crunch of innings that became more acute with Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Even with doubleheader games reduced to seven innings by a rule loitering around after last year’s shortened season, the Cardinals and Mets will play, at minimum, 23 innings in a 24-hour span. Pitching depth will be at a premium.
“It’s very fluid,” manager Mike Shildt said. “The best way to answer your question.”
The Cardinals joined San Francisco as the first National League teams to 18 wins with the Game 1 victory. In Game 2, the Mets found their footing after a tumultuous week for the hitters. A few days ago they were laughing about an inside joke about “Donnie,” their new “approach coach,” and then spun sideways late Monday night the firing of their actual hitting coaches. Personified by electric shortstop Francisco Lindor’s unplugged offense – who went zero-for-three in Game 1 to tumble to zero-for-23 in his last six games – the Mets have lacked the sock their names suggest. They got it from unexpected names Wednesday night.
Backup catcher Tomas Nido hit a two-run homer to punctuate the three-run inning against Oviedo and give the Mets’ a 3-0 lead in Game 2. Two innings later, Jonathan Villar hit a solo homer – his first for the Mets – that extended the lead to 4-0. Oviedo allowed the four runs on five hits through his four innings. That lead backed a patchwork game where the Mets went with a one-inning starter, Miguel Castro, and then five pitchers to get the next six innings.
Both of the Cardinals’ RBIs in Game 2 came from pinch-hitters. Dylan Carlson had to leave Game 1 after fouling a pitch off his right shin. He was diagnosed with a bruise, but returned to pinch-hit in the fourth inning of Game 2. Against left sidewinder Aaron Loup, Carlson lined an RBI, pinch-hit single with two outs for the Cardinals’ first run. That narrowed the Mets’ lead and got the tyin run to the plate. That’s as close as the Cardinals got.
Rookie Justin Williams added an RBI, pinch-hit single in the sixth.
A home run that would have put out a light staked the Cardinals to an early lead and a home run out of reach put away the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Mets.
In between, Game 1 starter Kwang Hyun Kim pitched expertly around his own walks, two lengthy delays, and one confusing check of the rule book to escape a bases-loaded mess in the fourth inning and maintain the Cardinals’ lead on the way to a 4-1 victory at Busch Stadium and their sixth consecutive win.
Goldschmidt tagged a first-pitch home run in the first inning off the updated sign for the Big Mac Land. The home run traveled 417 feet and dinged the “D” in the signature scoreboard – but because the old lights have been replaced by a ribbon board the damage had to be mimicked. The sign had the “D” darkened for the remainder of the game. That’s how it was in the fifth inning when the Cardinals capitalized on an error for two runs, both on DeJong’s homer over the glove of left fielder Kevin Pillar and into the Mets’ bullpen.
DeJong’s seventh homer of the season turned a one-run game into the best of all save situations for Alex Reyes. Fresh after yesterday’s rainout, Reyes pitched the ninth for his eight save of the season.
Kim pitched four innings and allowed one run on two hits and three walks. Two of those walks and one of the hits came in the ponderous, problematic fourth inning. The Mets loaded the bases without an out, and then the inning became a marathon.
The top of the fourth inning was a laborious stretch that featured two walks, two strikeouts, two replays, and only two balls in play. There was prolonged parts without any action or explanation at all. The longest of the replays was rule that led to a delay of more than six minutes of the field and, because it was not fully explained to the crowd, boos cascading from the people in attendance. At issue was whether Kim’s interpreter going into the field – which by rule the umpires shouldn’t have allowed him to do without a coach – counted as a visit. If it did, the Cardinals would have had to remove Kim from the game, right in the crucible.
After 3 minutes, 18 seconds of deliberations with official in Manhattan, the visit by the interpreter was not counted. The Cardinals had two mound visits subtracted from their five total for the game, but Kim was allowed to remain in the game.
That proved pivotal as Kim pitched with the bases loaded and struck out the final two batters of the inning to keep the Mets from tying the score. He got Alberto Almora Jr. to swing at a 69-mph curveball nowhere near the strike zone to end the inning. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs, but Kim pitched through two long delays and the confusion to keep the Mets to one run.
By rule, interpreters are not permitted on the field without the presence of a coach, manager, or trainer, and running out to translate for the catcher should not have been allowed.
That replay review took 3 minutes, 18 seconds.
In total, the umpires spent 6 minutes, 4 seconds in review that inning.
The second review came on a groundball hit by James McCann to third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Gold Glove backhanded the ball and tried to stride for third, causing him to misplay the ball. He lunged after the ball while keeping a foot on third base to try and get the forceout. It was initially ruled that he did not have control of the ball – and the Mets would keep the bases loaded. Arenado was charged with an error. Upon review, that error became a remarkable feat. He had gripped the ball and kept in contact with third for the forceout.
By the end of the lengthy inning, the Cardinals had their one-run lead and only two balls had been put in play. It was textbook inning for the issues baseball has had with pace of play, and it was not solely because of the reviews that ultimately resolved the questions.
Also in the inning, Knizner was hit near his protective cup by a foul ball. He regained his breath and stayed in Game 1 to catch the remainder of it.
Kim’s start snapped a stretch of 20 consecutive five-inning appearances by Cardinals starters.
