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Roundtable Sports' John Denton recaps the Cardinals' 3-2, come-from-behind win over the Cubs at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
If Wednesday’s game was the final start of Dustin May’s time with the Cardinals – and all indications certainly were that it will be – the hard-throwing right-hander put on a perfect showcase that might allow other teams to dream what he might look like in their rotation.
May might be about to get a fresh start, and that’s certainly something the Cardinals hope to get after finally erupting with a massive three-run 10th inning to shed a month's worth of frustration at the plate
After Pete Crow-Armstrong smashed a 424-foot, two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning, the Cardinals responded with three runs of their own -- the final two coming on a game-winning double by Ivan Herrera -- in a 3-2 defeat of the rival Cubs at Busch Stadium.
Playing their first game of the season as a sub.-500 team, the Cardinals (54-54) didn’t score in the game's first nine innings, but they came through time and again in the bottom of the 10th inning. Pinch-hitter Lars Nootbaar reached on an infield single, standout rookie JJ Wetherholt coaxed a walk and Jordan Walker had a tapper for his 78th RBI of the season.
Herrera, who has been battling struggles at the plate much of the past six weeks, drilled the first pitch he saw from Trey Thornton for a double that left the bat at 104.8 mph. When Walker streaked around from first and dove head-first into home, Busch Stadium erupted and teammates joyously tore Herrera's jersey off his body.
"Man, it feels great to be able to come back from 2-0 because we've just kept working and we played really good baseball today," Herrera said to Cardinals TV after delivering the second walk-off hit of his career on Wednesday night. "(I was looking for) something right down the middle and I saw it well. I knew he was trying to get ahead after he fell behind (Jordan Walker). I was just trying to be aggressive, get the ball in the air and at least tie the game, but I got rewarded with the double there."
Herrera's double was just the seventh hit of the night for the Cardinals, who came into Wednesday 30th in MLB in batting average (.218), slugging (.336) and OPS (.622) in July.
Crow-Armstrong broke out of a slump with his first hit of the series in the top half of the 10th after the two teams failed to score in the game's first nine innings. He drilled a Luis Gastelum changeup into the seats with a missile that left his bat at 109.1 mph for his 24th homer of the season.
The Cardinals and Cubs wrap up their four-game series with a day game on Thursday with Andre Pallante facing Javier Assad. The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs in late May/early June and won the three-game series at Wrigley Field in early July, but they got smashed 7-3 and 10-2 in the first two games of this series. The two rivals face off for the final time in 2026 at Wrigley Field Aug. 14-16.
May was dominant over his five innings of work, allowing only a fourth inning double to Alex Bregman that narrowly avoided the glove of a diving Nathan Church in left field.
May, 28, didn’t have his best fastball, and that was evident in the fact that he had just three swings and misses over his five innings of work. He threw as many sweepers (16) as he did fastballs (16), and Bregman’s double.
May pitched around Bregman’s two-out double by getting Ian Happ to fly out to end the fourth inning. He walked Michael Conforto to lead off the fifth inning, but he retired the next three straight to end what could be his final outing with the birds on a bat across his chest.
"It was a blast to get out there and have a good one," May said while acknowledging that the outing could be his final one with the Cardinals. "I don't know what the next week is going to hold, but this has been a great clubhouse, and I've enjoyed my time here so far. ... It was good to be able to share the emotions with the guys."
After leaving the game, a smiling May handed out hugs to many of his teammates and he actually hugged Andre Pallante so hard, that he lifted the young pitcher off the ground.
As good as May was, Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd gave the Cardinals just as many fits. He allowed just four hits and two hits over seven innings, while striking out five. Herrera was the only Cardinals to reach him in the first five innings by singling in his first two at bats.
In the sixth inning, Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker broke a 0-for-14 skid with a looping single to left field. After moving to second on a Herrera ground out, Walker moved up to third on an Alec Burleson single and the Cardinals had their best scoring chance. However, Masyn Winn waved at a changeup and Blaze Jordan fouled out on the first pitch following a four-pitch walk to Jose Fermin.
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If Wednesday’s game was the final start of Dustin May’s time with the Cardinals – and all indications certainly were that it will be – the hard-throwing right-hander put on a perfect showcase that might allow other teams to dream what he might look like in their rotation.
May might be about to get a fresh start, and that’s certainly something the Cardinals hope to get after finally erupting with a massive three-run 10th inning to shed a month's worth of frustration at the plate
After Pete Crow-Armstrong smashed a 424-foot, two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning, the Cardinals responded with three runs of their own -- the final two coming on a game-winning double by Ivan Herrera -- in a 3-2 defeat of the rival Cubs at Busch Stadium.
Playing their first game of the season as a sub.-500 team, the Cardinals (54-54) didn’t score in the game's first nine innings, but they came through time and again in the bottom of the 10th inning. Pinch-hitter Lars Nootbaar reached on an infield single, standout rookie JJ Wetherholt coaxed a walk and Jordan Walker had a tapper for his 78th RBI of the season.
Herrera, who has been battling struggles at the plate much of the past six weeks, drilled the first pitch he saw from Trey Thornton for a double that left the bat at 104.8 mph. When Walker streaked around from first and dove head-first into home, Busch Stadium erupted and teammates joyously tore Herrera's jersey off his body.
"Man, it feels great to be able to come back from 2-0 because we've just kept working and we played really good baseball today," Herrera said to Cardinals TV after delivering the second walk-off hit of his career on Wednesday night. "(I was looking for) something right down the middle and I saw it well. I knew he was trying to get ahead after he fell behind (Jordan Walker). I was just trying to be aggressive, get the ball in the air and at least tie the game, but I got rewarded with the double there."
Herrera's double was just the seventh hit of the night for the Cardinals, who came into Wednesday 30th in MLB in batting average (.218), slugging (.336) and OPS (.622) in July.
Crow-Armstrong broke out of a slump with his first hit of the series in the top half of the 10th after the two teams failed to score in the game's first nine innings. He drilled a Luis Gastelum changeup into the seats with a missile that left his bat at 109.1 mph for his 24th homer of the season.
The Cardinals and Cubs wrap up their four-game series with a day game on Thursday with Andre Pallante facing Javier Assad. The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs in late May/early June and won the three-game series at Wrigley Field in early July, but they got smashed 7-3 and 10-2 in the first two games of this series. The two rivals face off for the final time in 2026 at Wrigley Field Aug. 14-16.
May was dominant over five innings
May was dominant over his five innings of work, allowing only a fourth inning double to Alex Bregman that narrowly avoided the glove of a diving Nathan Church in left field.
May, 28, didn’t have his best fastball, and that was evident in the fact that he had just three swings and misses over his five innings of work. He threw as many sweepers (16) as he did fastballs (16), and Bregman’s double.
May pitched around Bregman’s two-out double by getting Ian Happ to fly out to end the fourth inning. He walked Michael Conforto to lead off the fifth inning, but he retired the next three straight to end what could be his final outing with the birds on a bat across his chest.
"It was a blast to get out there and have a good one," May said while acknowledging that the outing could be his final one with the Cardinals. "I don't know what the next week is going to hold, but this has been a great clubhouse, and I've enjoyed my time here so far. ... It was good to be able to share the emotions with the guys."
After leaving the game, a smiling May handed out hugs to many of his teammates and he actually hugged Andre Pallante so hard, that he lifted the young pitcher off the ground.
As good as May was, Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd gave the Cardinals just as many fits. He allowed just four hits and two hits over seven innings, while striking out five. Herrera was the only Cardinals to reach him in the first five innings by singling in his first two at bats.
In the sixth inning, Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker broke a 0-for-14 skid with a looping single to left field. After moving to second on a Herrera ground out, Walker moved up to third on an Alec Burleson single and the Cardinals had their best scoring chance. However, Masyn Winn waved at a changeup and Blaze Jordan fouled out on the first pitch following a four-pitch walk to Jose Fermin.
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