ST. LOUIS — If the Cardinals saw this weekend series against the New York Yankees — a surefire blockbuster at the gate — as a stage to see how they measure against one of the best teams in baseball, they got a perfect indicator Saturday.
In front of the largest audience, it took a flawless performance to win.
The Cardinals’ Most Valuable Duo, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, combined to generate one run in the first inning, and that was it. The Cardinals vacuum-sealed it from there. With a mix of stellar defense, a variety of relief pitching, the Cardinals built on Jordan Montgomery’s debut for a 1-0 victory Saturday night at Busch Stadium. The win, which clinched the interleague series for the Cardinals against the 70-win Yankees, came in front of the largest crowd ever at Busch III.
At 48,581, the packed house, many of whom got Joe Torre bobbleheads, surpassed the 2019 Mother’s Day crowd that had set the previous high.
After Goldschmidt’s two-out double against Yankees pitcher Domingo German, Arenado followed with an RBI single and a fist pump. That brought an end the evening’s scoring and turned the game over to the Cardinals’ pitching and defense. The latter has been the golden backbone of the team for more than a year. The former just got an upgrade. Montgomery provided five scoreless innings in his first start since being traded to the Cardinals from the Yankees. The bullpen followed with four more scoreless, ultimately bringing the game to former closer Giovanny Gallegos.
All-Star Ryan Helsley was unavailable after finishing Friday’s come-from-behind win against the Yankees. To get the one-run game to the end, Gallegos had to go through the middle of the order. Gallegos got a fly out to deep center from Aaron Judge and then struck out the next two batters to clinch his 11th save.
But even precision needs a dash of daring.
In the eighth inning, with the tying run at first base, right fielder Lars Nootbaar dashed in on a low, sinking liner hit by Kyle Higashioka. Nootbaar could have played it cautiously, given up the single, and assured that the runner got no further than second base. Or, he could go for the catch, risk the ball getting past him and assure the game was tied, at least.
He dove.
For the second time in as many games, he made the dazzling catch that squelched a rally.
Montgomery’s solid five innings coupled with newcomer Jose Quintana’s debut Thursday to give the Cardinals the kind of comfort they wanted at the trade deadline.
Acquired in deals on consecutive days before Tuesday’s trade deadline, Montgomery and Quintana combined to throw 11 innings and allow one run on three hits in their debuts. They struck out more batters (eight) than they allowed to reach base (six), and before leg cramps nudged Montgomery from the game he was the way to the Cardinals’ fourth quality start in the past five games.
Pitchers who started the week on other teams authored two of them.
