Cardinals 14, Diamondbacks 5
ST. LOUIS, Apr. 19 — Tommy Edman was a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a walk and five RBI as the St. Louis Cardinals clobbered the Arizona Diamondbacks, 14–5, Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner added another start to his list of struggles in 2023, giving up seven runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out two across three innings.
Second baseman Ketel Marte reached on a one-out infield single in the top of the first. The slow, high bouncer bounded over pitcher Jake Woodford’s head. Edman — the shortstop — barehanded and fired, the ball sailing into the Cardinals dugout to put Marte on second. He advanced to third on a grounder to first by right fielder Corbin Carroll, but first baseman Christian Walker left him stranded with a popup to short.
Cardinals Get to Bumgarner Quickly
Edman drove a leadoff double to the left-field corner in the bottom half. He scored when center fielder Dylan Carlson, up next, ripped a double to left-center. A one-out walk by third baseman Nolan Arenado put runners on first and second. On the first pitch to catcher Willson Contreras, up next, the runners broke on a double steal. Catcher Jose Herrera fired low and wide of second, the error allowing Carlson to score. With Arenado now on second, Contreras also doubled to left, scoring Arenado to make the score 3–0. A pair of grounders, to the pitcher by left fielder Tyler O’Neill and to the shortstop by right fielder Jordan Walker ended the inning.
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The Diamondbacks responded in the top of the second. After a one-out walk by designated hitter Pavin Smith, center fielder Alek Thomas smashed a 432-foot fly to the right-center-field seats, making the score 3–2. The Cardinals threatened to extend their lead in the bottom half, loading the bases on a Taylor Motter single and walks by Edman and Goldschmidt. But a two-out groundout to second by Arenado ended the threat.
The hitting did not stop in the top of the third. A one-out Marte single to right got the ball rolling. Carroll followed with a ground-rule double to the seats outside shallow left. This put runners on second and third for Walker, whose high fly to center allowed Marte to tag up and score the tying run.
Bumgarner vs. Contreras
Contreras led off the bottom of the third with an eventful walk. After he fouled the second pitch off, he started jawing at Bumgarner, who responded in kind. Herrera faced Contreras and defused the situation. When the next three pitches missed, Contreras gave an emphatic bat flip as he jogged to first. He advanced to third on a double by O’Neill. Walker plated Contreras and advanced O’Neill to third on a sharp single to center, giving the Cardinals a 4–3 lead. It became a 7–3 lead three batters later, when Edman sent a towering fly into the left-field seats. Carlson smashed a deep fly to left that had the appearance of a double, but a fine running catch by Gurriel ended the inning instead.
Cardinals Increase Lead over Diamondbacks
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Designated hitter Pavin Smith made it a 7–4 game four pitches into the fourth, a screaming liner into the Cardinals bullpen. An atom-ball liner to third by Thomas and grounder to the mound by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo made for two quick outs, but Herrera extended the inning with a sharp single to center. Rojas smashed a hot grounder down the first-base line, one that seemed destined for the right-field corner. But a diving Goldschmidt saved a sure double, retiring the side with an unassisted force out.
Long reliever Peter Solomon took the hill in the bottom of the fourth and sat the Cardinals down in order. He did not fare as well in the fifth. A one-out single by Walker and a two-out walk by catcher Andrew Knizner preceded a triple to the gap in right-center by Edman. Carlson scored Edman with an infield single to the shortstop, deep in the hole, to make the score 10–4.
From Bad to Worse
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It got even worse for the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the sixth. A trio of one-out walks put Contreras, O’Neill, and Walker on for second baseman Nolan Gorman. On 1–0, he crushed a fastball into the right-center-field seats for his first career grand slam. In came Kevin Ginkel in place of Solomon. Knizner welcomed him with a sharp single to right-center. Edman grounded into a 5–6 force play, retiring Knizner, before Carlson grounded to the pitcher. With the score now 14–4, the rout was on.
Drew VerHagen pitched a scoreless top of the seventh for the Cardinals. Ginkel and Jose Ruiz combined to do the same in the bottom of the seventh for the Diamondbacks, with Ruiz getting the last out. The Diamondbacks scored a consolation run off Genesis Cabrera in the top of the eighth thanks to a two-out Perdomo double to left and single up the middle by catcher Gabriel Moreno, who replaced an injured Jose Herrera in the bottom of the sixth.
Ruiz pitched a 1–2–3 bottom of the eighth for the Diamondbacks. Cardinals right-hander Jordan Hicks allowed one baserunner in a scoreless top of the ninth, sealing the 14–5 victory.
Lovullo, Bumgarner on the Continuing Struggles
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Lovullo said it is both tough and frustrating for him to watch Bumgarner go through his season-long struggles. “The empathetic side of me hurts for him. I want every pitcher to do well, and I know how hard he’s working. He’s grinding. The other side of me is extremely frustrated. I want to see everybody do well to help us win baseball games. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen today.”
When Bumgarner gave up two straight doubles to start the game, he said he tried to limit damage and go from there. “I just wasn’t able to do it,” he said glumly. “Not very good. I haven’t been very good. It’s frustrating. Obviously, I’m trying to do better and putting in the work. It just hasn’t shown up yet.”
Bumgarner said this is as frustrated as he’s been his entire career. When asked what more he can do to turn this around, he said, “I wish I had some kind of answers. Not that I’m not gonna look for them. I’m gonna look for them. Right now, I don’t have any for you guys. I wish I did.” It was a combination of location and stuff, according to Bumgarner, who summed it up with, “I can’t find any positives from today.”
Incident with Contreras
Lovullo, when asked about the incident between Bumgarner and Contreras, said, “They’re both competitors. Contreras plays the way he does. We feel a certain way about his style inside of this clubhouse. He does what he does, and you gotta accept it. I don’t know what happened and who said what.”
Contreras told reporters that Bumgarner did not like the way he reacted when he fouled a pitch off. Bumgarner, when asked about the incident, said, “You could probably go back and read lips.” When asked what specifically he took issue with, he said, “If you can’t see that, I don’t know how to help you. Not just today. Yesterday, today, probably another day if you picked a random day watching him play. If I pitched better, I might give you something, but I gotta pitch better.”
Looking Ahead
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Woodford (1–2) got the win for the Cardinals while Bumgarner (0–3) took the loss for the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks (11–8, first in NL West) head home for a seven-game homestand against the San Diego Padres (8–11, game not completed at press time) and Kansas City Royals (4–15). In the first game of the homestand, Diamondbacks righty Ryne Nelson (1–0, 3.71 ERA) will face Padres righty Michael Wacha (2–1, 6.06 ERA). First pitch will be at 6:40 Arizona Time.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, hit the road for a ten-game West Coast swing. Friday night they will open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners. Lefty Steven Matz (0–2, 6.48 ERA) will take the hill for the Cardinals against Mariners righty George Kirby (1–1, 3.78 ERA). First pitch will be at 9:10 pm Central Time/7:10 pm Pacific Time.
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