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Cardinals stumble to garner hits, swept by Brewers at Busch

The play ended the eighth inning and the Cardinals were retired in order in the ninth, and the series sweep sent the Brewers into the playoffs.
Credit: Jeff Curry, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey, KSDK
Photo: Jeff Curry, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey, KSDK

ST. LOUIS — By Rob Rains

Adolis Garcia rounded third, needing only to run the 90 feet toward home to take advantage of a throwing error and tie a game the Cardinals desperately needed to win Wednesday night in their hopes of extending their season beyond this weekend.

Garcia didn’t get there, and as a result the Cardinals might not get where they want to go either.

Third-base coach Jose Oquendo said he thought Garcia’s stride was thrown off as he hit the base, and as a result Garcia stumbled and fell as he tried to keep his balance, about half way between third and home. He got to his feet and kept going, but was out easily at the plate.

The play ended the eighth inning and the Cardinals were retired in order in the ninth, and the series sweep sent the Brewers into the playoffs, as either the NL Central Division champions or the top wild-card team, for the first time since 2011. Their playoff position will be determined this weekend.

For the Cardinals, they need to go to Chicago this weekend and sweep the Cubs and hope they get help, with either the Giants or Nationals knocking off the Dodgers or Rockies, or else they will be home for the third consecutive October.

Garcia, ironically one of the fastest baserunners on the Cardinals, came into the game to pinch-run after Matt Carpenter drew a two-out walk in the eighth. Jose Martinez hit a slow roller to third, and Garcia easily rounded second and made it to third in full stride.

When the throw from Mike Moustakas was wild, Garcia kept running – until he fell.

“The kid was giving you everything he’s got,” said manager Mike Shildt. “Unfortunately he fell. That’s just one of those things that happen. We would have been able to tie the game. It wasn’t for lack of effort. Things happen.

“He was in no man’s land.”

Garcia dressed in silence in the clubhouse and left without speaking to reporters.

It was the first series sweep by the Brewers in St. Louis since 2009.

Here is how the game broke down:

At the plate: Martinez’s infield single was just the second hit of the game for the Cardinals. Their only other hit was a double by Paul DeJong in the fourth which helped them load the bases with one out. Jedd Gyorko delivered a sacrifice fly that tied the game 1-1 but Yadier Molina grounded out to end the inning … They had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth but Marcell Ozuna lined into an inning-ending double play, with Martinez caught off second.

On the mound: Travis Shaw singled in both of the Brewers runs, in the third and fifth innings. His hit in the fifth came off Dakota Hudson, who had relieved starter John Gant with a runner on first, and he went to second on a groundout … Hudson has allowed nine of 18 inherited runners to score since he was called up from Memphis … The bullpen (Hudson, Jordan Hicks and Carlos Martinez) did not allow a hit over the final four innings.

Key stat: After driving in a career-high six runs on Tuesday night with a bases-loaded triple and a three-run homer, Christian Yelich walked five times and scored both of the Brewers’ runs on Wednesday night. He became the first player to walk five times in a nine-inning game against the Cardinals since Gene Hermanski of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949.

Worth noting: Former Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal will hold a showcase for all interested teams next Wednesday at the University of California at Irvine. Rosenthal, a free agent, missed this season recovering from Tommy John surgery and would like to sign before Nov. 1 … With Toronto officially announcing that John Gibbons will not return as manager next season, the Blue Jays search for a new manager has begun. Stubby Clapp, who led Memphis to consecutive PCL titles the last two years and is a Canadian, is likely to be a strong candidate for the position. It’s also possible former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could be a candidate, as he played for the Blue Jays in 1999 … Carpenter quietly broke a franchise record on Wednesday night which had stood since 1934. Carpenter reached 606 consecutive at-bats without grounding into a double play, surpassing the mark of 605 set by Pepper Martin in 1933-34. Carpenter last grounded into a double play on Sept. 4, 2017 … The announced attendance for the final home game of the regular season was 40,644, which brought the season attendance to 3,403,587, an average of 42,020. The Cardinals finished third in attendance in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers and Yankees.

Looking ahead: The Cardinals will fly to Chicago on Thursday in advance of the final three games of the regular season this weekend against the Cubs, all day games. Adam Wainwright will start on Friday, with Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty the scheduled starters for Saturday and Sunday but that could change depending on the importance of the games in the playoff race.

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