ST. LOUIS: It was that night.
The kind of night all the headlines come out of the stadium with a hit (including the pitcher) and five do it with multiple hits; the kind of night all your big boppers go to the garden, your batsman gets two bats in an inning; a night when your offense induces a player to position himself on the mound, when bug start rallies and broken bats fall by bumps and falls decrease significantly.
It was the kind of night the Cardinals were able to win, securing a fifth entry of nine races en route to a 14-3 Nationals on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
“It’s really, indeed, exactly how we expect to compete offensively,” manager Mike Shildt said.
As part of that frame, 14 Cardinals went up to bat, three took a walk, Justin Williams picked up three RBIs with two singles and none of the nine base shots went for additional bases. Also, those who recorded the first two outings did so while driving.
“It simply came to our notice then [the offense]”This is a very broad way to be able to compete regardless of the situation. You’ve seen everything we want to get out of the offense tonight.”
The new location was the highest result of a Cardinals entry since July 24, 2019, when they did the same in Pittsburgh.
The truth is, it wasn’t a necessity. The Cardinals were already up 5-1 at the time the bombing was complete, operating with relative ease thanks to five one-shot shots from Jack Flaherty, while Paul Goldschmidt’s posts – the 250th of his career – and Nolan Arenado opened the scoring for St. Louis v. Stephen Strasburg.
How many times could this homer duo be in the same game this season?
“Hopefully,” Goldschmidt said, “we can do it often this year.”
But his long balls only set the stage for one more ceremony.
Matt Carpenter – about whom Goldschmidt said he hasn’t seen “bad luck like this my whole life” – set the No. 1 in 2021 on Monday, a counterpoint to the change that landed four feet from the home plate. Hit number 2, on Tuesday, ran 384 meters further, going back up into the sky, but similar to drifting to the corner of the right field.
“Oh, go on,” Shildt said, “it’s like,“ Stay fair. Please just be fair. “
“I’m doing my Carlton Fisk inside trying to get the ball as fair as I can,” Carpenter said.
He did so, disconnecting from the foul post. The 12,714 at Busch Stadium exploded for their 11-year franchise. Carpenter bound with a curtain.
“It definitely feels good,” Carpenter said. “You know, not having a lot of success and coming out of a couple of years in a row, being able to have a moment like that is definitely a good feeling.”
It was part of the good feelings of all St. Louis on Tuesday night. The big boppers exploded, Flaherty’s ace continued to show a return to form, although more work is needed on both the counting of throws and the command of the fast ball, he said, and the bottom half of the lineup was added: the first three RBI runs through two hits from a left-hander, Dylan Carlson with his first multi-hit game of the season and receiver Andrew Knizner going 1-on-3 with a pair of rides in its first start of the season.
In short, it was a night when the Cardinals ’offensive had its peak performance, which has been far and far between in 11 games of the 2021 season.
“A lot of positive aspects of our team,” Goldschmidt said, “and if you do, you’ll find a way to score.”