Jordan Walker went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 with a wild back-and-forth finish Saturday.
Walker snapped a 5-5 tie in the eighth with a two-out single off reliever Justin Martinez (1-2) that drove in Alec Burleson with what proved to be the winning run.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked none. Ryan Helsley (2-0) stranded two runners in scoring position in the ninth inning to close out the victory.
Josh Naylor and Randal Grichuk drove in two runs each for the Diamondbacks, who lost their fourth straight game. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly allowed four runs on six hits in six-plus innings. He struck out six batters and walked one.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 first-inning lead on singles by Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan and Ivan Herrera.
Grichuk tied the game 1-1 with his fifth-inning homer.
Kelly finally hit turbulence in the seventh. Burleson hit a single, Nolan Arenado walked and Walker delivered a two-run double. After Jalen Beeks relieved Kelly, two groundouts brought Walker around from second to put the Cardinals up 4-1.
The Diamondbacks took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning with the help of defensive miscues. Ketel Marte hit a leadoff double against Kyle Leahy, moved to third on Geraldo Perdomo’s single, and scored on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly.
After Eugenio Suarez hit a single, Steven Matz relieved Leahy. Naylor hit a liner to right field that Walker misplayed into a two-run triple. With two outs, Grichuk hit a pop up that fell into center field for an RBI double after Donovan and Victor Scott II lost the ball in the sun.
The Cardinals moved ahead 6-5 in the bottom of the inning against Martinez. Herrera walked and went to third on Burleson’s double. Arenado hit a run-scoring groundout, then Walker lined the decisive RBI single.
The Diamondbacks got runners to second and third in the ninth inning, but Helsley struck out Suarez to end the game.
–Field Level Media
