With the offense nowhere to be found, Cardinals get blanked 6-0 against the Brewers
Quick Stats:
· Sonny Gray: 4.1 IP, 8 Hits, 6 ER, 4 Strikeouts, 1 BB. (Loss)
· Jacob Misiorowski: MLB Debut, 5.0 IP, 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 5 Strikeouts, 4 BB. (Win)
· Andre Granillo: MLB Debut, 2.2 IP, 2 Hits, 0 Runs.
· Sal Frelick: 3-4, 2 RBIs
STL: 3 hits, zero runs, zero errors
MIL: 12 hits, six runs, zero errors
The Game Story:
The Redbirds sent out Sonny Gray to the hill and were countered by the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, who was making his major league debut. Sitting just half a game ahead of the Brewers, this series had that big game feel of what is to be expected from division rivals.
1st Inning: The top half of the first inning saw the top three go three and out with Lars Nootbaar grounding out to second, Masyn Winn popping out to second, and Ivan Herrera grounding out. The Brewers got into the hit column right away by Sal Frelick singling to left that was followed by Sonny Gray getting Jackson Chourio to ground into a double play before striking out William Contreras to end the inning.
The 2nd inning began with William Contreras striking out, followed by Alec Burleson flying out to center and Nolan Arenado grounding out. Sonny Gray got two quick outs by striking out Christian Yelich and making Rhys Hopkins ground out to Arenado. Two pitches that looked like strikes on Isaac Collins were not called. On a 3-2 count, Collins ripped a triple down to right, which was followed by a single from Bryce Turang, putting the Brewers up 1-0. Gray got Caleb Durbin to line out to third to end the second inning.
3rd Inning: Top of the third saw Nolan Gorman drawing a walk before Pedro Pages grounded into a double play to clear the basepaths. Victor Scott ended up striking out to end the top of the third with the Cardinals still looking for their first hit. Sonny Gray had a nine-pitch bottom of the third by getting Joey Ortiz and Sal Frelick to fly out, which was followed by Jackson Chourio grounding out to Arenado to end the inning.
4th Inning: Top half of the fourth started with Lars Nootbaar getting his second crack at the rookie and drew a four-pitch walk. Masyn Winn flies out to center. Ivan Herrera strikes out. Willson Contreras draws a walk to have runners on first and second with two outs. Alec Burleson pops up to shallow center, and the Cardinals end the top half without a hit. Sonny Gray opens up the bottom half by getting the younger Contreras brother to strike out swinging. Christian Yellich follows with a ground out to second and gets his fourth strikeout of the game by striking out Rhys Hoskins to end the inning.
5th Inning: Nolan Arenado opens the inning with a flyout to left. Nolan Gorman strikes out swinging. Pedro Pages strikes out to end the top half, giving Misiorowski a no-hitter through five innings and sitting at 78 pitches. Sonny Gray gives up a leadoff walk to Isaac Collins to open the bottom half of the inning. Gray Picks off Collins at first to get the first out. Turang hits a single to right. Caleb Durbin lines a hit to center to put runners on first and second with one out. Ortiz hits a line drive to right, bringing in a run to make the score 2-0 Milwaukee with runners on second and third and one out. Frelick’s line drive to left brings in two runners to make the score 4-0 Milwaukee, and a runner on first. Jackson Chourio proceeds to hit a bomb to center for a 2-run home run, and the score is now 6-0 Milwaukee. Sonny Gray is taken out of the game, and Carlos Marmol brings in Andre Granillo to make his major league debut. Granillo gets William Contreras to ground out to short for the second out. Yellich hits a single to center. Hoskins ends the inning with a flyout to center with St. Louis trailing 6-0.
6th Inning: Jacob Misiorowski has to leave the game after twisting his ankle going back up the mound and ends his night by throwing five innings of no-hit baseball. The Brewers bring in Nick Mears to face Victor Scott II in a 3-0 count. Scott II draws a walk. Nootbaar flies out for the first out. Masyn Winn strikes out. Ivan Herrera grounds out to end the top half of the inning, and the Cardinals remain hitless on the night. Granillo gets Collins to ground out to open the bottom half of the sixth. Turang flies out to left. Durbin grounds out to short, and Granillo has a 1-2-3 inning.
7th Inning: Brewers bring in reliever Aaron Ashby to start the seventh. Willson Contreras gets a single to center to end the Brewers ‘ no-hit bid to start the inning. Contreras tries to steal second and gets thrown out by his younger brother for the first out. Alec Burleson hits a blooper to shallow center for the Cardinals’ second hit of the evening. Nolan Arenado keeps the line moving with the Cardinals’ third straight hit with runners on first and second and one out. Nolan Gorman flies out to right for the second out. Pedro Pages grounds out to end the top half of the seventh. Granillo comes back out for the seventh and gets Joey Ortiz to pop out to start the bottom half. Frelick lines a single to the right for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio pops out to third, followed by William Contreras flying out to left to end the inning.
8th Inning: Victor Scott II takes a curveball to the head to open the top half of the inning. Nootbaar hits into a double play. Winn grounds out to second to end the top half of the eighth. John King comes in to relieve Granillo—Christian Yellich singles to center. King gets Hoskins to ground into a double play. Collins gets a single and reaches base for the third time. Turang grounds out to Winn to end the inning.
9th Inning: Ivan Herrera opens the ninth by grounding out to third for the first out. Willson Contreras lines out to right. Alec Burleson ends the game by striking out swinging.
Final Score: Milwaukee-6, St. Louis -0
Cardinals Player of the Game
With little offense happening tonight, the player of the game goes to rookie Andre Granillo, who made his major league debut and did not surrender a run.
Better to Forget:
For the last two weeks, the Cardinals have been outhit, and that trend continued in Milwaukee tonight, with the Brewers throwing a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
My Thoughts:
The Cardinals’ bats will need to start heating up, as they are now officially in third place, sitting a half game behind the Brewers in the NL Central standings. The top of the lineup was what doomed the Redbirds against the Blue Jays in St. Louis, and tonight it was the bottom half of the Brewers’ lineup that did the most damage. The offense badly needs Brendan Donovan to make his return from the injured toe to help the lineup get back to its move-the-line approach. A five-game losing streak is never fun to endure, but this team has shown its resiliency all season long and will need to continue that trend for the next three games in Milwaukee.
Next Up:
The Cardinals will send Erick Fedde to the mound to face off against the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 CST.
