Rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt delivered when the St. Louis Cardinals needed him most, breaking a late tie with a clutch two-run double in the eighth inning to propel St. Louis to a 7-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals entered the bottom of the eighth in a 4-4 deadlock after Colorado’s Hunter Goodman had tied the game with his 34th home run of the season. Rather than allowing the Rockies to seize control, St. Louis responded with a decisive three-run rally that ultimately secured its fifth victory in the last seven games.
Wetherholt was at the center of the comeback. After going 2-for-3 with two walks and scoring twice, the rookie stepped to the plate with two outs and runners in scoring position. He attacked the first pitch from left-hander Parker Mushinski and drove a two-run double over the head of center fielder Cole Carrigg.
Carrigg appeared to have an opportunity to keep the ball in front of him, but he bobbled it while attempting to recover, allowing Wetherholt to advance all the way to third. The play gave St. Louis the lead and injected energy into a Busch Stadium crowd that had watched the Cardinals repeatedly battle back throughout the afternoon.
Ivan Herrera then added another layer of insurance, delivering an RBI single against Mushinski to push the Cardinals’ advantage to three runs.
The victory moved St. Louis back to the .500 mark and kept the club within striking distance of the National League playoff picture. The Cardinals remain 3 1/2 games behind both the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks for the second and third NL wild-card positions. The timing of the win is particularly significant because Philadelphia is scheduled to arrive in St. Louis for a three-game series beginning Monday night.
Wetherholt was not the only Cardinal to make an offensive impact. Alec Burleson launched his 19th home run of the season, while Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker and Nathan Church each recorded multi-hit performances.
Herrera was especially impressive at the plate, collecting four hits for only the second four-hit game of his career. His production helped keep the Cardinals within reach of Colorado throughout the middle innings before his eighth-inning RBI provided the insurance St. Louis ultimately needed.
The Cardinals also received a strong finish from their bullpen. Riley O’Brien worked a perfect ninth inning to record his 29th save of the season. Newcomer Everson Pereira also made an immediate impact in the field, making a spectacular diving catch in left field to rob T.J. Rumfield and complete the victory.
Colorado repeatedly threatened to take control but could not finish the job. Goodman gave the Rockies new life in the eighth inning when he crushed a solo homer off George Soriano to tie the score at 4-4. Soriano surrendered his seventh blown save of the season but was credited with the victory after St. Louis responded in the bottom half.
The Rockies had also cut the Cardinals’ lead to one run in the sixth inning when backup catcher Brett Sullivan connected on a two-run homer against right-hander Michael McGreevy. The blast narrowed the gap and set the stage for a tense finish.
McGreevy ultimately worked 5 2/3 innings for St. Louis, allowing three runs on eight hits. Although he encountered several stretches of pressure, he kept the Cardinals in position to win.
Colorado starter Michael Lorenzen lasted 4 1/3 innings and surrendered four runs, although only two were earned, on eight hits and three walks. Tanner Gordon took the loss after allowing the eighth-inning rally, dropping to 0-3 on the season.
The decisive rally began with Winn, who opened the eighth inning by ripping a single into center field. Church followed with an opposite-field single to left, putting two runners aboard. Jose Fermin then executed a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
Bryan Torres struck out, leaving the Cardinals with two outs and the game still tied. That was when Wetherholt seized the opportunity.
His two-run double not only broke the deadlock but also underscored the growing importance of the rookie to St. Louis’ playoff hopes. Wetherholt has emerged as one of the Cardinals’ most important young players, providing a combination of offensive production, athleticism and defensive reliability.
For Colorado, the defeat extended an increasingly difficult stretch. The Rockies, who own the worst record in the National League, have now lost five of their last six games.
For St. Louis, however, Sunday’s victory continued a promising surge at an important point in the season. The Cardinals have won five of their last seven and are once again at .500, giving them renewed hope in a crowded NL playoff race.
With the Phillies coming to town Monday, Wetherholt’s late-game heroics could not have come at a more important time. The Cardinals now have an opportunity to turn their recent momentum into a statement series against one of the teams directly ahead of them in the postseason chase.
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