Willson Contreras, First Baseman | St. Louis Cardinals
Willson Contreras, First Baseman | St. Louis Cardinals
If Wednesday's shutout loss in Colorado was a source of frustration for the Cardinals, they found relief with an offensive outburst on Thursday night. St. Louis achieved a 9-7 victory against the San Diego Padres in the first game of a four-game series, marking manager Oliver Marmol’s 300th career win.
“We needed it, especially after they punched early,” Marmol commented on the team's strong start at the plate. “To be able to do what we did in the second was extremely important, especially coming off that road trip. You wanted to kind of come out a little stronger. We needed the offense to get going.”
Willson Contreras began their scoring with an RBI double in the first inning. In the second inning, both Contreras and Brendan Donovan hit three-run homers during a six-run frame. This marked the first time since 2003 that two Cardinals hit three-run homers in one inning.
The Cardinals' success came against Yu Darvish, who had been tough on them throughout his career. Darvish allowed eight earned runs, his most surrendered to St. Louis in ten starts against them.
Iván Herrera contributed with three hits, including a solo homer and two RBIs. Victor Scott II walked twice and scored from the last spot in the lineup. Sonny Gray pitched through five innings, securing his team-leading 10th win.
“I think this was a testament to our offense continuing to put pressure on,” Gray stated. “And our bullpen coming in... they came in and shut the door.”
The bullpen provided four shutout innings behind Gray. The trio of JoJo Romero, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley handled 3 2/3 innings with six strikeouts combined. Helsley recorded his 20th save of the season as he faces potential trade discussions.
After struggling during their recent road trip, where they went 1-5 and were outscored early in games, there was urgency for quick offense against San Diego.
“Definitely trying to get out ahead of these guys,” Scott remarked about facing the Padres’ hitters.
Scott's walk set up Donovan's ninth homer of the season which secured St. Louis’ lead for good.
“I think the most important day of a series is trying to win the first game,” Donovan said about setting a positive tone for upcoming games.
Donovan compared their preparation under hitting coach Brant Brown to courses of a meal: preparation is like appetizers; winning is dessert.
“You can’t have dessert without the first two [courses],” Donovan quipped.
On Thursday night, St. Louis enjoyed every course thoroughly.
Alerts Sign-up