ST. LOUIS — Left-handed reliever Packy Naughton, replacing COVID-affected Adam Wainwright, made his first Cardinals start Tuesday night against a Baltimore Orioles team which hadn’t been to St. Louis, almost since its forbearers, the Browns, were here.
“We’re going to find out together,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. He was referring to Naughton, not the Orioles, who had never played at Busch III and hadn’t played here at all since May, 2003. Naughton gave the Cardinals 3 1/3 decent innings but the Orioles won for the first time in St. Louis in 19 years when Kyle Bradish also won for the first time—in his career.
Right-hander Bradish, making his third major league start, bamboozled the Cardinals with his fastball-slider combination, striking out 11 and walking no one over seven innings in a 5-3 Baltimore victory.
The last time the Orioles were here in June, 2003, they won one of three games, their only triumph coming in a complete-game 8-1 win by Sidney Ponson in which Albert Pujols drove in the only Cardinals run. Pujols was the only player who was here now and then. He wasn’t in Tuesday’s lineup.
Naughton, who had been unscored on in three relief appearances, knocked off two scoreless innings before 2021 All-Star Cedric Mullins, who has given up switch hitting to swing only left-handed, homered to right after Chris Owings had doubled in the third.
Tyler Nevin sent his second career homer into the Orioles’ bullpen in left in the fourth and Naughton was done for right-hander Kodi Whitley. Anthony Santander’s third hit, a double to right center, scored Mullins in the fifth and it was 4-0 before Nick Wittgren escaped a bases-loaded spot by striking out Nevin to keep the deficit at four runs.
Wittgren made a nifty play by letting Owens’ sacrifice bunt drop behind him in the sixth and then starting a double play with forces at third and second. But, with two out and Owings at first, Mullins singled for his third hit and Trey Mancini’s hit scored Owens to make it 5-0.
Bradish blanked the Cardinals on two hits over five innings, with one of the hits a second-inning single by Juan Yepez, who hit safely for the sixth consecutive games since being recalled from Memphis.
But Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double to right-center leading off the home sixth. And with the somnambulant crowd energized by that, Harrison Bader sent it into a frenzy with the Cardinals’ first inside-the-park homer hit in Busch III.
Center fielder Mullins couldn’t run the ball down at the left-center-field wall but the ball apparently kicked off his leg before rolling along the track into deep left field.
Flashing around the bases in 16.6 seconds en route to his 50th career homer, Bader could have scored standing up but he punctuated the rare play by belly-flopping across the plate as Molina, who had held up, hustled to stay ahead of him.
How rare? The Cardinals hadn’t had an inside-the-park homer since Fernando Vina in Milwaukee 2001. Vince Coleman was the last Cardinal to have an inside-the-park homer in St. Louis, doing it on May 21, 1985. That was Coleman’s first career homer.
Two visiting players, the latest Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier in 2017, had had inside-the-parkers at Busch III. Edwin Encarnacion of Cincinnati had the other one in 2007.
Rookie Andre Pallante, one of the surprises in the first month for the Cardinals, set down the Orioles in order in the seventh and lefthander T.J. McFarland, a former Oriole, did the same in the eighth and had a scoreless ninth. .
With Bradish out, Dylan Carlson singled off reliever Joey Krehbiel in the Cardinals’ eighth but a Molina double play ball swallowed that hit. The Cardinals hit into three twin killings.
But Brendan Donovan smacked his first career homer, a drive to right, off Dillon Tate, to start the ninth.
Tommy Edman, who had struck out three times, singled through the shift and Paul Goldschmidt walloped a liner to left but Santander made the catch. Right fielder Austin Hays raced to snatch Nolan Arenado's liner
Yepez was hit above the left elbow, putting two runners on. Rookie Kramer Robertson pinch ran for Yepez and Felix Bautista, who throws 100-plus, relieved for Baltimore. His first four pitches to Tyler O'Neill were fastballs ranging from 99.3 to 101.5 mph. The game-ending strikeout came on an 89 mph slider.
