I’m sitting on my couch with my laptop open, trying to figure out how to describe what happened during a game that, frankly, I didn’t really care about. The St. Louis Cardinals really have no postseason hopes at this point — at 66-67, Fangraphs puts their playoff chances at 1.0%. In the past, this wasn’t a big deal for me — I just enjoyed watching baseball and my favorite team no matter what. For some reason — maybe I’m just growing up and my old hobbies and interests don’t captivate me like they used to, maybe my days of this hyper-fixation are coming to an end, or maybe this team just doesn’t charm me like the teams of years past — I just can’t get into these games like I used to. So here I sit, a scene from The Crossroads of Destiny, the season two finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender, playing in the background as I try to figure out what to write.
The scene in question is one near the end where you-know-who is doing you-know-what while the other you-know-who is doing another you-know-what, so another you-know-what-the-other you-know-who. Can you spoil a show that came out in 2006? Has the statute of limitations run out on that yet? Regardless, it’s a great show, and if you haven’t seen it, I really recommend it because it’s my favorite show of all time. Anyway, I wanted to make a point. As my eyes glazed over with thought, this scene played out before my eyes and I realized something: I really thought the Cardinals were going to do something this season. I thought they were going to find a way to get to the postseason. But it just doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Sometimes the season comes to an end and your favorite team comes crashing back to earth just when you thought they were going to get a power-up. The power-up came too late and other teams can bend lightning.
Okay, the metaphor falls apart at the end, but I think you get what I mean.
So, on to this game. I started on a somewhat somber note for a game the Cardinals actually won, and honestly, this game was a little interesting. After hitting a walk-off grand slam last week, Nolan Arenado once again led the Cardinals to victory with a walk-off groundball single at nearly 102 mph that scored Mayson Winn.
The Cardinals began the game trailing by two runs after three singles and a home steal (after an over throw to second base while attempting to throw a base stealer out of the game) by Andre Pallante. The Cardinals hitters were quiet until the bottom of the fourth inning, when they were able to mount a comeback with four singles and a double in the inning. The Cardinals finished the inning with a three-run lead, a lead they held until the bottom of the eighth inning. Kyle Higashioka tied the game for the San Diego Padres with his sixteenth home run of the season. However, thanks to Arenado, the Cardinals were able to regain the lead and win the game.
Pallente had a solid, if not particularly remarkable, performance on the pitching mound. He threw 5 2⁄3 innings in which he allowed eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks. His slider seemed to be particularly effective, producing five swings and misses and five foul balls in 12 swings. The slider tricked batters into swinging outside the zone at a rate of about 40%, while only being touched about 25% of the time.
Paul Goldschmidt also had a great night with three hits and a run batted in. His RBI single in the fourth inning was the Cardinals’ hardest hit of the night at 108 mph. Goldy is having a weird year, but even though he’s been an average hitter so far this season, entering the game with a 92 wRC+, he’s still hit the ball hard and over the wall. He just doesn’t walk as much now.
The Cardinals will look to tie the series and get back to .500 tomorrow. Michael King for the Padres will face Sonny Gray of the Cardinals at 1:15 p.m. CT.
