MILWAUKEE — Thursday’s Game Report: Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
On their way to winning their 12th game in a row Thursday, of course the Cardinals had to do something new.
This time, they came back from a 5-0 deficit, the largest margin they have rallied from this season to win a game, and they did it in dramatic style.
Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run homer pulled the Cardinals into a 5-5 tie in the seventh, and after taking the lead on a passed ball, Goldschmidt provided an insurance run with his second homer of the game, in the ninth, to clinch the victory and a sweep of the four-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
It’s also the first time this season the Cardinals won a game they were trailing by three or more runs in the seventh inning or later. They had been 0-48 in that scenario.
The winning streak is the longest by the Cardinals since the 1982 team also won 12 in a row. They are now only two wins away from tying the franchise record of 14 consecutive wins set in 1935.
They have a five-game lead in the race for the second wild-card playoff spot and have just 10 games left in the regular season.
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals scored their first run in the fifth when Dylan Carlson tripled, both his and the team’s second hit in the game, and scored on a single by Yadier Molina. They lost a chance to add runs when Tommy Edman popped out with the bases loaded … Edman came up again with the bases loaded in the seventh and drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder and another run scored on a wild pickoff throw before Goldschmidt launched his 28th homer and second in as many games to cap the four-run inning and tie the game … Nolan Arenado drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and later scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball. Molina’s sacrifice fly drove in another run, and then Goldschmidt followed with his ninth-inning homer, giving him 29 homers and 93 RBIs for the season.
On the mound: Adam Wainwright gave up a grand slam in the first inning to Tyrone Taylor, following back to back walks with two outs, both on 3-2 pitches. Taylor also homered off Wainwright in the fourth. The five runs were the most Wainwright has allowed in a game since May 15. He had allowed a combined two home runs in his last 10 starts … The rally by the offense let Wainwright get a no-decision, with the win going to T.J. McFarland, one of four relievers who kept the Brewers scoreless over the final five innings. Giovanny Gallegos worked a perfect ninth for his 12th save, recording two strikeouts.
Key stat: The Cardinals are the first team in the majors to win 12 games in a row, all in September, since the 1999 Houston Astros.
Worth noting: One day after announcing that he had cleared waivers and been outrighted to Memphis, the Cardinals granted Daniel Ponce de Leon’s request to be released so he could pursue opportunities with other teams now instead of after he became a free agent at the end of the season … The last time the Cardinals won a game they trailed by five or more runs was on July 19, 2019 against the Reds … The last time they swept a four-game series in Milwaukee was in 2013 … Taylor’s grand slam was the fourth allowed by Wainwright in 179 plate appearances with the bases loaded in his career and the first since 2017 … Wainwright’s strikeout of Luis Urias in the fourth inning, his only strikeout of the game, was the 2,000th of his career.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals have a day-night doubleheader in Chicago on Friday, which includes a makeup game for the game rained out in Chicago on the final day before the All-Star break. J.A. Happ will start the day game and Jack Flaherty the night game. Both will be seven-inning games.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains