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Game Summary
The Cardinals muster but three hits all game, but one of them was a well-timed solo HR by JJ Wetherholt. Meanwhile, Hunter Dobbins and a trio of relievers combined to throw a much-needed shutout. Riley O’Brien gets his 26th save after striking out the side in the ninth, albeit with a couple walks to add a little drama.
With the win, the Cardinals break a four-game losing streak and climb back to 3 games over the .500 mark.
Pre-game notes
- Detmers (LH) for the Angels. Dobbins with the spot start for the Cardinals, allowing the other starters an extra day after a tough road trip and a long stretch with no off days.
- Fermin in CF. Velazquez in LF. Crooks at C. Jordan at 3B. I’m thinking there is a story there.
- Unsurprisingly, Blewett was designated for assignment overnight. Dobbins gets his 26-man spot. 40-man roster has an opening. For now.
- Bullpen availability should be ok for today. They will be down one arm, but he would have likely been unavailable today anyway. Everyone else likely good to go, they might want to avoid Gastelum because of prior use, but I doubt he is hands off.
- The Cardinals rarely hit well on daytime, getaway games.
The first innings
Detmers and Dobbins both come out sharp in the early going. Of course, neither of these line-ups will remind us of Killer’s Row. Dobbins works around a few singles but avoids making things worse by throwing strikes and no free passes. Detmers seemed a little sharper in that he avoided traffic a bit better, but the first 3 innings ended up scoreless.
The middle innings
In the fourth, the Cardinals got to Detmers a bit with two walks, but a GIDP upended that. K’s and GIDP really seem to pile up when you are offensively struggling, don’t they? On the Cardinal side, they finally break through in the 6th with a solo HR by Wetherholt (only their third hit). Once done, the other Jose Fermin relieved Detmers.
Meanwhile, Dobbins just cruised through six innings of shutout ball, giving up six hits, striking out 5 batters and, notably, no walks. 86 pitches. A very nice start.
The decisive and satisfying end
As we rolled into the late innings, the parade of relievers took over and the Cardinals nursing a 1-0 lead. No worries, right? On the Angels side, their outstanding bullpen throttled the Cardinals for the third consecutive game. Oh, wait, the Angels bullpen isn’t that good? Hmmm…
Luis Gastelum got the seventh inning and fared well with 1 K and no runs. Soriano got the eighth inning against the top of the Angel line-up. A quick K and a pop out created some positive momentum for the beleaguered bullpen, and a 3-1 putout avoided any suspense.
Post-Game Notes
- Check out Today on the Farm – Wednesday 7.22 for updates on MiLB action.
- The Cardinals return home to a one-game “series” to make-up a prior rain-out against the D-backs, then followed by the Reds and Cubs.
- During the homestand the team will cross the 2/3rd mark of the season.
