ST. LOUIS — In one of the toughest times of his baseball career, one that will likely one day land him in the Hall of Fame, Nolan Arenado finally got the moment he’s been waiting for months.
Arenado, who had nearly hit a career low in the first half and was battling a sore left forearm and a bruised right elbow, came at the right time Saturday night with a two-run single in the eighth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory over the rival Cubs.
“Just coming through for the guys and helping us win — I feel like I didn’t do that much in the first half, so it felt great,” said Arenado, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. “It was a tough first half individually, and I’m just trying to contribute in whatever way I can. I might not feel great or do everything I need to do, but I can still help this team win on both sides of the ball. That’s what I’m focused on until it clicks. I believe that time will come, and tonight was really great.”
The large contingent of Cardinals fans at Busch Stadium erupted in emotion as Arenado’s 104-mph grounder eluded Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner. Willson Contreras trotted from third and Paul Goldschmidt — who had doubled into the left-field corner — scored from second base. The fiery Arenado pumped his fist at second base as the crowd cheered.
Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals’ lone All-Star this season, closed the ninth inning to earn his 32nd save of the season, the most in MLB.
The eighth-inning rally, combined with an 11-3 rout in Game 1, allowed the Cards to sweep the doubleheader against the Cubs. Relievers John King, Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero and Helsley held the Cubs to just two hits in five scoreless innings in Game 2.
“We’ve been doing that all year and hopefully we can just continue that,” said King, who lowered his ERA to 2.43 this season with two innings of hitless work. “Everybody’s prepared and super confident in their abilities. We just try to throw strike one and attack, and everything falls into place. It’s been really fun.”
The All-Star break comes at a good time for veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, who has allowed 15 runs in 18 innings in his last four starts (7.50 ERA). In Saturday’s second game, Gibson allowed 10 hits (a season high) and four runs. Six of those hits came in the second inning, when the Cubs scored four times. He limited the damage by allowing Christopher Morel to turn an inning-ending double play in the fourth.
“These are the team wins that you look back on in September and October that build you up as a team and get you where you want to be,” Gibson said of the growing belief within the Cards’ club.
The Cards won Game 1 on a nine-run first inning — their highest first-inning score in more than 19 years. In Game 2, Masyn Winn led off the first inning with a home run.
Winn scored twice in the first inning of Game 1 and again in the first inning of Game 2, becoming just the third MLB player to score three runs in the first inning on the same day since inning-by-inning records began in 1974. The Giants’ Brandon Belt and Mike Tauchman followed on May 4, 2021, according to MLB research.
“We had a small series of three games there [earlier in the week]”But going into this break, we wanted to win this series,” said Winn, who had four hits, three runs and three RBIs in the doubleheader sweep. “To do it against a rival, to get two games in one day, it’s pretty fun. Especially that second one — to come back and let Helsley close the door and [Arenado] “Get that big bang, it was electric out there.”