An update on the Cardinals’ two deadline day trades closed on Aug. 2 reveals the following: Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery, both left-handed, made six starts. The Cardinals have won all six games, with Montgomery, coming from the New York Yankees, recording three wins in his three games.
Including the Cardinals’ 5-1 triumph over Colorado at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night, the two newcomers have played 33 2/3 innings combined and allowed six earned runs for a 1.60 ERA.
Meanwhile, none of the players who gave up in those trades with the Yankees and Pittsburgh are active in the majors.
Nolan Gorman, who had two hits, knocked out in three of the Cardinals’ runs. Fellow rookie Brendan Donovan had three hits and drove in another run as the Cardinals won for the 11th time in 14 games this month starting from the date the two trades were made, and Colorado’s 11th since 2018 in a row at Busch Stadium.
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In the last seven games, the Cardinals starting pitchers have allowed two runs or fewer in all.
A former starting pitcher, rookie Andre Pallante, faced seven men in relief. He retired them all.
Carlson stops an extra base hit
Montgomery fanned out the first two Colorado hitters with fastballs in the first inning, but needed a little help for the third out. Brendan Rodgers sent a drive towards the right midfield wall, but midfielder Dylan Carlson pulled back and made a jumping catch just before he hit the wall.
However, the Rockies couldn’t do anything about Nolan Arenado’s extra base bid or Gorman’s at the end of the inning. Arenado batted with two outs and Lars Nootbaar in third, bouncing over the left midfield wall with a run-scoring double, out of reach of sliding left fielder Connor Joe.
Arenado picked off Paul Goldschmidt, who got caught in a doubles game after Nootbaar left and Donovan hit an infield. Gorman followed up Arenado’s strike by ricocheting a double run-scoring over the right midfield wall and it was 2-0.
Cards survive Snafu
Montgomery hit eight in the first five innings, but his shutout streak as a Cardinal ended after 13 1/3 innings when the Rockies overcame a run in the third with three singles.
The third of those hits was from Charlie Blackmon, who hit a shift by grounding a ball through what would normally be the shortstop position. Third baseman Arenado, who was swinging to second base, was chasing the ball but couldn’t get it when a run scored. Shortstop Paul DeJong played behind the pocket.
As base runner Brian Serven finished second, he noticed that nobody was covering third, and left fielder Corey Dickerson was only able to get the ball back to second as Serven steamed into third.
This gave the Rockies runners first and third places and an out. But Montgomery threw a double play ball. Second baseman Gorman briefly fumbled but recovered to throw to DeJong, who made a strong throw at first to beat Rodgers, and the Cardinals still went the inning.
Montgomery’s scoreless streak was the longest by a new Cardinals starter since Kyle Lohse went 15 innings in April 2008.
Donovan triggers rally
Donovan hit the left in the fifth for his second hit and went alert after Goldschmidt’s single out of the glove of diving third baseman Ryan McMahon for third.
Arenado faced McMahon for the first time. But Donovan, who was third, allowed him to score on Gorman’s grounder against first baseman CJ Cron, who chose to throw for second rather than home as he attempted to make a double play but Gorman batted the relay throw when Donovan came home. The Cardinals led 3-1.
Montgomery throws DP ball
Blackmon was knocked down from a pitch and Rodgers ungaunted Gorman, giving the Rockies two ons and nobody in the sixth. A mound visit from pitching coach Mike Maddux seemed to pay off for Montgomery, who prompted Cron to rap into a doubles game started by Arenado.
But with Jose Iglisias scoring two, manager Oliver Marmol challenged Pallante, who scored an inning-ending roller.
Montgomery left after failing to meet anyone on foot and hitting his season high for strikes at eight. Over 16⅔ innings in two starts, he has given up just one run and 12 hits and batted 17.
The Cardinals’ groundball double play propelled them to the top of the major leagues with 111 points with Colorado.
Gorman delivers again
A two-out single to the right by Gorman added to the Cardinals’ lead in the seventh after Nootbaar was hit by a pitch to start the inning. After the Cardinals went 4-1 up, Gorman was replaced in the eighth round by Tommy Edman at second base and Dickerson came out for Tyler O’Neill.
Donovan doubled for his third hit and scored on Carlson in the eighth with two outs for the Cardinals’ final run. Having had limited playing time lately, Donovan had only scored three previous goals since August 4.
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