At the start of the eighth inning, it certainly looked as if the Cardinals had a comfortable lead and that closer Ryan Helsley could safely expect a night off. By the time the top half of the eighth finished, there was little doubt Helsley would be called upon in the ninth. The only question was how much of a lead he'd be asked to protect.
Helsley, the National League saves leader, retired the side in order in the ninth, on three strikeouts, and earned his 46th save of the season -- 25 at Busch Stadium -- and put the finishing touches on a 6-5 Cardinals win over the freshly-minted AL Central Division champion Cleveland Guardians (they clinched earlier in the night) in front of an announced crowd of 41,317 at Busch Stadium on Saturday night.
Helsley tied Trevor Rosenthal's club record for the most saves at Busch Stadium. He's a perfect 25 for 25 in his home ballpark. He also recorded a "home" save in a game at Rickwood Field, in Alabama, in June.
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Helsley's 46 saves are the most in a single season for a Cardinal since Rosenthal saved 48 in 2015 to set the club record.
Helsley also recorded his 22nd perfect inning to close a game, which is a club record.
Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera's three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning provided the margin of victory, and Jordan Walker also homered in the win. Herrera went 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas allowed one run on four hits and did not walk a batter in six innings. He struck out four, and the lone run allowed came on a home run.
The Cardinals (78-77) scored four runs in the seventh inning. The first came on fielding error on a ball hit by Paul Goldschmidt. Then Herrera's three-run homer gave the Cardinals a 6-1 lead.
Reliever JoJo Romero allowed four runs in the eighth inning after the Cardinals went up 6-1. Romero gave up a pair of singles followed by a three-run home run by Guardians star Jose Ramirez. The homer by Ramirez, his 37th of the season, made the score 6-4.
The fourth run charged to Romero came with Matthew Liberatore on the mound. Liberatore gave up an RBI double on a chopper that bounded high over the first base bag and up the right field line. The runner that scored reached on a walk by Romero.
Mikolas' defense lends a hand
The Cardinals' right-hander breezed through the first inning on just seven pitches (six strikes) and retired the side in order on a pair of fly balls sandwiched around a strikeout.
The Guardians swatted a pair of singles in the second inning, but a baserunning blunder by former Cardinal Lane Thomas helped Mikolas keep a zero in the scoring column.
Thomas hit a one-out single to center field. The next batter, Andres Gimenez, singled to right field. Thomas went from first to third on the play. Then when the throw from right fielder Walker to second baseman Thomas Saggese skipped away from Saggese, Thomas broke for home.
However, shortstop Masyn Winn, who has one of the best throwing arms of an infielder in the majors, quickly gathered the ball and made a strong throw to the plate that beat Thomas by two steps. Herrera applied the tag for the second out of the inning. Mikolas struck out Jhonkensy Noel to end the inning and strand the other run on base.
Cardinals walk this way
Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd made his eighth start of the season after he missed most of the 2023 season because of Tommy John surgery. He signed a one-year contract with the Guardians on June 29, and he made his season debut on August 13.
Through his previous seven starts this season, Boyd went 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA with four strikeouts and 10 walks in 35⅔ innings. He entered Saturday's outing coming off of his shortest start this season, a 2⅔-inning's no-decision against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
Saturday night, the Cardinals scored the game's first two runs, in the fourth inning, against Boyd.
Herrera started the frame with a leadoff walk at the end of a 10-pitch battle with Boyd. Herrera fouled off four pitches with two strikes before he drew the walk.
Then, following a Brendan Donovan strikeout, Walker got the barrel of his bat to a 1-1 fastball bearing down and in. Walker lined that pitch an estimated 371 feet into the left field stands. The two-run home run, this fifth homer of the season, gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
All five of Walker's home runs have come in September.
Walker entered the day batting .188 with a .247 on-base percentage and a .346 slugging percentage for the season in the majors. Since the start of September, he has slashed.250/.288/.518 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 18 games (17 starts).
Bo knows a changeup
Guardians catcher Bo Naylor cut the Cardinals' lead in half with one swing in the top of the fifth inning against Mikolas.
With one out, Mikolas fell behind in the count, 2-1, after Naylor took a changeup in the dirt. Mikolas doubled up on that pitch and threw a second consecutive changeup. However, the second time the pitch stayed over the heart of the plate and in the upper third of the strike zone.
Naylor clubbed the 2-1 pitch and estimated 390 feet into the Cardinals bullpen for a solo home run.
Mikolas has now allowed a home run in each of his past five starts.
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