ST. LOUIS — In what was one of the most trying stretches of his baseball career that will likely one day land him in the Hall of Fame, Nolan Arenado finally got the kind of moment he’s been searching for for months.
Coming off a career low during a first half of the season that saw him battle left forearm soreness and a bruised right elbow, Arenado delivered the game-winning hit Saturday night with a two-run single in the eighth inning that propelled the Cardinals to a 5-4 victory over the rival Cubs.
“I feel like I haven’t done that a lot this first half, so it was great,” said Arenado, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. “The first half was tough individually, and I’m just trying to contribute in any way I can. I might not feel great or do some of the things I expect of myself, but I can still help this team win on both sides of the ball. That’s what I’m focused on until it clicks. I believe that moment will come, and tonight was really great.”
The large contingent of Cardinals fans at Busch Stadium erupted in excitement as Arenado’s 104-mph grounder eluded Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner. Willson Contreras trotted from third base and Paul Goldschmidt — who had doubled into the left-field corner — scored from second base. The fiery Arenado pumped his fist toward second base to roars from the crowd.
Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals’ lone All-Star this season, closed out the ninth inning to record his MLB-high 32nd save of the season.
The eighth-inning comeback, combined with an 11-3 rout in the first game, gave the Cardinals a doubleheader win over the Cubs. Relievers John King, Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero and Helsley held the Cubs to just two hits in five scoreless innings in the second game.
“We’ve been doing that all year and hopefully we can keep it that way,” said King, who lowered his ERA to 2.43 this season with two no-hit innings. “Everybody’s prepared and really confident in their abilities. We’re just trying to throw the first strike and attack and then everything falls into place. It’s really fun.”
The All-Star break comes at a good time for veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, who has allowed 15 runs in 18 innings over his last four starts (7.50 ERA). In Game 2 on Saturday, Gibson allowed a season-high 10 hits and four runs. Six of those hits came in the second inning, when the Cubs scored four times. He limited the damage by getting Christopher Morel to hit an inning-ending double play in the fourth.
“It’s the team wins that you look back on in September and October that build you as a team and get you to where you want to be,” Gibson said of the growing belief within the Cardinals clubhouse.
The Cardinals won the first game with a nine-run first inning, their best first inning in more than 19 years. In the second game, Masyn Winn led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run.
Winn scored twice in the first inning of Game 1 and again in the first inning of Game 2, making him just the third MLB player to score three runs in the first inning on the same day since inning-by-inning data began being tracked in 1974, joining Brandon Belt and Mike Tauchman of the Giants on May 4, 2021, according to MLB research.
“We had a little three-game losing streak coming into the week, but going into the break, we wanted to win this series,” said Winn, who had four hits, scored three runs and drove in three runs in the doubleheader sweep. “To do well against a rival, to get two games in one day, it’s pretty fun. Especially the second game — coming back and seeing Helsley shut the door and (Arenado) get that big hit, it was electric out there.”
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