Cardinals rally again, snap Jeurys Familia's remarkable save streak
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
The St. Louis Cardinals are starting to show the resilience that has made them so dangerous in recent seasons.
For the third time in the last week, St. Louis rallied from a late-inning deficit to secure a needed win on Wednesday. It was by far their most impressive comeback to, as they toppled New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia’s and his streak of 52 consecutive saves to win 5-4 at Citi Field.
It’s the first time Familia has blown a save since July 30 of last season, so he nearly completed a calendar year unblemished. Familia’s streak was also the third longest in MLB history, so we’ve established here that the Cardinals had their work cut out for them.
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They kept chipping away though. Even after Adam Wainwright surrendered what appeared to be a devastating go-ahead home run to Yoenis Cespedes in the seventh inning, St. Louis battled and then broke through on Yadier Molina’s game-tying double. That set the stage for Kolten Wong, who drove home the winning run with a double of his own.
New Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh took it from there, firing a clean ninth inning to earn his sixth save. That completed perhaps the Cardinals most important win of the season. With the victory, St. Louis leapfrogged the Mets in the wild-card standings and pulled to within one game of the Marlins for the second wild-card spot.
It’s one game, yes, but it’s looking like every single one of them is going to matter in this tight wild-card race.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jay Bruce: The Cincinnati Reds slugger is doing a great job enhancing his trade value thanks to his recent hot streak. That sizzling stretch continued in a Reds 2-1 win in San Francisco, as Bruce connected for the go-ahead home run against Madison Bumgarner in the seventh inning. That home run would hold up as the game winner and would mark the fifth straight game Bruce has homered in.
Jay Bruce's 5 straight games with a HR ties the @Reds' franchise record pic.twitter.com/UpYxOSocEK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 27, 2016
Get him while he’s hot, MLB contenders. Get him now.
Stephen Strasburg: After suffering his first setback last week against the Dodgers, Stephen Strasburg became the NL’s first 14-game winner in Wednesday’s 4-1 win against the Indians. Strasburg fired seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while walking two and striking out seven. He was supported by rookie Trea Turner, who collected three hits and drove in three runs.
Freddie Freeman: Draft positioning is the only thing at stake in the Braves-Twins series, but Freddie Freeman deserves a nod for his big effort. In the Braves 9-7 win, Freeman finished 4-for-4 with one homer, one stolen base, one walk and five RBIs. Needless to say, the big night was needed as Freeman had gone just 7-for-43 with 19 strikeouts since the All-Star break.
Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez: Detroit’s veteran sluggers went a combined 7-for-8 in their 4-3 win against the Red Sox. That included Cabrera’s go-ahead home run in the ninth inning against Brad Ziegler that held up as the winner. Cabrera added two singles and a walk, while Martinez walked and singled four times, including a key two-run knock in the third.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Giancarlo Stanton did a little bit of everything in Miami’s 11-1 blowout of Philadelphia. Of course, he delivered a mammoth two-run home run in the first inning that essentially cemented the victory. But more people were talking about the sensational catch you see above that robbed extra bases from Tommy Joseph. It’s another reminder that Stanton is an all-around good player, not just a dominant slugger.
REST OF SCOREBOARD
Padres 8, Blue Jays 4: San Diego tied a NL record by homering in its 25th consecutive game.
Rays 3, Dodgers 1: Trade candidate Matt Moore allowed one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings to pick up his seventh win.
Rockies 3, Orioles 1: Colorado pulls off a stunning series victory in Baltimore thanks to a gem from Jon Gray and David Dahl’s first career home run.
Pirates 10, Mariners 1: With some help from his friends, Gerrit Cole fired his first-career complete game.
Cubs 8, White Sox 1: The Cubs were hitless until Kris Bryant’s home run in the sixth. Then they broke it open thanks to Addison Russell.
Addison Russell, 22, is youngest #Cubs player to hit grand slam since 1962
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 28, 2016
A’s 6, Rangers 4: Oakland got a pair of home runs from Khris Davis as they steal the series from Texas.
Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 1: Milwaukee committed five defensive errors and two baserunning blunders in the first two innings and never recovered.
The Brewers committed 5 errors through 2 innings.
That's the most errors by one team in a game this season!
Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 3 errors
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 28, 2016
Astros 4, Yankees 1: Houston salvages one in the series thanks to Lance McCullers firing six innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts.
Royals 7, Angels 5: The game was finished under protest after Raul A. Mondesi was not called for running inside the baseline after a sacrifice bunt. The call would prove critical as Kansas City mounted a game-changing four-run rally in the inning.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
