PHOENIX — It was a frustrating night in the desert for the Cardinals offense on Saturday night.
The Cardinals put eight runners on base over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but could only manage to bring one of them home in falling to the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
After having runners on second and third with nobody out in a 1-1 game in the sixth, they left the bases loaded without scoring. They had two runners on in the seventh before a line drive double play ended the inning.
The Cardinals did manage to score a run on three consecutive singles in the eighth, but by then the Diamondbacks had taken a 4-1 lead.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The first Cardinals run scored in the fifth when Jordan Walker tripled with one out and scored on a single by Masyn Winn … That was the first of two hits for Winn in the Cardinals’ 11 hit attack … Paul Goldschmidt also had a pair of singles, as did Willson Contreras.
On the mound: After the Cardinals failed to score in the sixth, Kyle Gibson gave up a leadoff double and then a walk in the bottom of the inning before a three-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. broke the 1-1 tie and gave the Diamondbacks a three-run lead … It was the fifth home run allowed by Gibson in his three starts this season … Gibson also gave up a run in the first inning after the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with only one out … Gibson retired 11 batters in a row from the second through the fifth innings … Andre Pallante pitched around a leadoff walk in a scoreless seventh before Ryan Fernandez had a 1-2-3 eighth.
Key stat: The Cardinals were just 2-of-10 with a runner in scoring position and left nine runners on base, five of them on either second or third.
Worth noting: Contreras’ single extended his on-base streak to a career-high 19 games dating back to last season … Walker’s last five hits have all been for extra bases, four doubles and a triple … Walker’s triple was the fifth of the season for the Cardinals, who are tied for the major-league lead in that category.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start in the final game of the three-game series and will be opposed by former Cardinals’ prospect Zac Gallen.