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 "If they are not nuts by now, they haven't been watching close,"
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said after shortstop Jhonny Peralta
hit a 10th-inning RBI single to give the Cardinals a 7-6 victory
over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
"This is the club we are. Not giving up a lead like that, but giving
up a couple runs and we have to fight our way back into it. I do
say, when things happen and it looks like the air gets kicked out of
it, that isn't the case. They just keep playing the game. That's
served us well so far, and hopefully as we move ahead. That was a
roller coaster."
The Cardinals led 6-2 before Arizona tied the game with a run in the
seventh inning and three in the eighth, but left-hander Marco
Gonzalez (4-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to send the game into extra
innings.
St. Louis first baseman Matt Adams doubled off right fielder Brett
Jackson's glove to open the 10th against Evan Marshall (4-4) before
Peralta lined a single to center, his third hit of the game, to
score pinch runner Daniel Descalso.
"He threw me the pitch I was looking for," said Peralta said, who
hit a sinking fastball from Marshall.
The Cardinals (89-71) remained one game ahead of Pittsburgh (88-72)
with two games to play. The Cardinals would host a one-game playoff
Monday if the teams tie for the division lead.
Peralta also had a two-run double in a three-run sixth inning as St.
Louis took a 4-2 lead that grew to four runs in the seventh inning.
Adams, left fielder Jon Jay and second baseman Kolten Wong had two
hits apiece for the Cardinals.
Left fielder Ender Inciarte had four hits, scored a run and drove in
the tying run in a three-run eighth inning for Arizona (63-97),
which has the worst record of the majors and by virtue of the loss
has the No. 1 pick in the 2015 amateur draft.
Right-hander Trevor Rosenthal picked up his 45th save.
The D-backs fired manager Kirk Gibson and bench coach Alan Trammell
before the game, although Trammell managed the game Friday.
"It has been an interesting day to say the least," Trammell said.
Arizona got five hits off right-hander Pat Neshek to tie the game in
the eighth inning, although Inciarte's double that tied the game was
the only hard-hit ball.
"It seemed like every ball was out of their reach," Neshek said.
"That's the game of baseball. It drives you crazy. That makes me so
happy. The guys picked me up. That was such a big game to win."
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Catcher Miguel Montero, third baseman Jake Lamb and second baseman
Nick Ahmed singled to load the bases with one out in the eighth
before shortstop Didi Gregorius dropped a single into center field
to drive in two runs.
Inciarte then hit a two-out, ground-rule double to left field to
drive in Ahmed and tie the game. Gregorius would have scored easily,
but the ball hit the warning track and hopped over the fence. Neshek
has given up nine of his 14 earned runs this season in his last 12
outings.
"If that happened for them, they were supposed to win the game,"
Inciarte said of the fact that his hit bounced into the stands.
Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 14 games when he singled to
lead off a two-run first inning off Michael Wacha ahead of walks to
center fielder A.J. Pollock and right fielder David Peralta.
First baseman Mark Trumbo drove in a run with sacrifice fly, and
catcher Miguel Montero singled in a run for a 2-0 Arizona lead.
St. Louis scored the next six runs, with Jhonny Peralta's two-run
double in a four-run sixth inning the big blow.
NOTES: Arizona bench coach Alan Trammell will manage the final three
games of the season, chief baseball officer Tony La Russa said, even
though both Trammell and manager Kirk Gibson were fired Friday
afternoon. Gibson was 353-375 in his four-plus seasons as manager,
including the NL West title in his first full season in 2011. ...
Arizona 2B Chris Owings (left shoulder) was a late scratch in the
starting lineup. He was replaced by 2B Nick Ahmed. ... St. Louis
manager Mike Matheny is the fifth manager to lead his team to the
playoffs in his first three seasons, joining Detroit's Hughie
Jennings (1907-09), the Yankees' Ralph Houk (1991-93), Houston's
Larry Dierker (1997-99) and Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire (2002-04).
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