Monday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 2

By Rob Rains

Riley O’Brien and the Cardinals got exactly what they wanted on Monday night – a no-drama ninth inning.

O’Brien, who has struggled lately in his role as the Cardinals’ closer, was able to protect a one-run lead by retiring all three hitters he faced in the ninth to secure the win over the Diamondbacks in the opener of a four-game series at Busch Stadium.

A ground out, a fly out and a foul popup to the catcher earned O’Brien his 19^th save.

The Cardinals built an early 3-0 lead before the Diamondbacks pulled within 3-2 in the seventh before JoJo Romero, George Soriano and O’Brien combined to retire the final seven Arizona batters.

The game marked the first time back at Busch Stadium for Nolan Arenado since he was traded to the Diamondbacks. He received a standing ovation before his first at-bat and finished the game with one hit in four at-bats.

Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:

At the plate: After failing to score in the first inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, the Cardinals scored in the third when Nathan Church singled, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Alec Burleson … They increased the lead to 3-0 in the fourth, cashing in a leadoff walk and a single, scoring on Blaze Jordan’s sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Church … JJ Wetherholt had a pair of singles … The Cardinals did not have a hit after Wetherholt’s single with two outs in the fourth.

On the mound: Andre Pallante worked the first six innings, scattering six hits and giving up one run. He did not walk a batter and struck out two, stranding five runners. He retired 12 batters on ground outs … Ryne Stanek gave up a home run in the seventh that made it a one-run game … Romero stranded the would-be tying run on second in the seventh … The Diamondbacks were hitless in eight at-bats with a runner in scoring position … The five St. Louis pitchers did not issue a walk.

Key stat: O’Brien had not worked a perfect ninth inning since May 7 in San Diego, a streak that covers his last 15 appearances. Prior to Monday night he had allowed 11 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, walking 10 and hitting four batters over that stretch. He still was able to pick up seven saves in those games.

Worth noting: Jordan Walker fell from sixth to eighth in this week’s report of fan voting for the All-Star game. The top six outfielders in the first round of balloting will advance to the second round. Voting in this round will end at 11 a.m. St. Louis time on Thursday … The Cardinals promoted shortstop Jesus Baez and outfielder Won-Bin Cho from Peoria to Springfield on Monday.

Up next: Kyle Leahy will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.

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