St Louis collects its first win in 1 run games this season while defeating rival Milwaukee
The Cardinals finally won their first 1 run game of 2025, on the 25th of April while playing its 26th game of the season, climbing to 4 games under .500 while taking Milwaukee below water and into under .500 territory.
This was another good Liberatore start, posting the line of 5 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings pitched. He walked no one while striking out 4 batters. The Cardinals defended his good start with their three best bullpen arms Leahy, Maton, and Helsley. The Cardinals needed the help of athleticism in this game, displaying run preventing defense by Arenado and showcasing the wheels of Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn. These Redbirds can fly!
Brendan Donovan had another amazing night on offense, showing a lot of hustle and aggression on the basepaths and with the bat. The first run of the game was Donovan scoring on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Gorman.
In the fifth inning another run was scored after Masyn Winn singled, stole a base, then got aggressive and took third base on an error by the Brewers. This run was batted in by none other than Lars Nootbaar! Who also singled soundly. Also in the 5th, Contreras rapped one over the head of Jackson Chourio creating a double. Brendan Donovan who really did have himself a night tonight, batted in Willson Contreras making it 3-0.
Three runs would be enough for the Cardinals to win their first 1 run game. This was a well rounded whole team effort and this may be a cliche at this point but this felt like a playoff game. The Brewers offense threatened in the late innings but the best elements of the bullpen held strong and of course some really good Cardinals defense helped the bullpen and the team to prevail.
- Lars Nootbaar was 2 for 3 on the night with a walk and an RBI
- Willson Contreras 1 for 4 with a double
- Brendan Donovan mirrored Nootbaar’s excellent night with the same line: 2 for 3 with a walk, RBI, and run scored
- Arenado, Walker, Scott II, and Winn joined Contreras with a hit a piece
- Gorman went 0-3 with an RBI and Pages was also 0-3
- The Cardinals finally had some luck on their side in a close game (and some defense) because the Brewers hitters Chourio, Yelich, and Hoskins were all 2 for 4, and the Brewers matched the Cardinals 9 hits in the game
This was a fun one to watch with a lot of suspense and big payoffs. The Cardinals executed in just about every aspect of the game tonight, holding the Brewers to only 2 runs, playing stellar defense, and getting the big hits while spreading their offense across most of the lineup, with three separate players having what ended up being big RBI.
The rivals face off tomorrow afternoon again at 1:15pm. 11-15 Cardinals vs 13-14 Brewers. We shall see how much their home field advantage plays this weekend. It could be a pitcher’s duel tomorrow with both Gray and Milwaukee’s starter Priester having good years so far. Quinn Priester has spread 14 IP over 3 games and is 1-0 with a bright and shiny 1.93 ERA. Personally, I think he is a prime candidate for regression against a MLB top 10 offense, but we shall see. That home field advantage can’t hurt.
Willson Contreras looks really good at first base, guys. Now if we can only get him going on offense, this could be a deadly lineup. Matthew Liberatore is on pace for a 6 fWAR season. He’s at 1.83 FIP, 2.70 xFIP, and 3.19 ERA in five games started. He looks like he has matured immensely and is hardly walking anyone! He has only walked two batters in 31 IP.