Cardinals needed a boost from their bases-loaded blahs. They got it from one of the best ever. (2024)

ANAHEIM, Calif.— Just about the only spot Matt Carpenter prefers to hit in more than with the bases loaded is when he has a 3-2 count and the bases loaded.

That’s where he found himself late Monday night.

Full count. Full bases.

The best possible situation for him.

It has been the worst possible outcome for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals upended the Los Angeles Angels’ lead, the game, and their offensive ineptitude all in one inning Monday night at Angel Stadium, and it hinged on producing in a spot they have struggled to do so all season. Blah with the bases loaded for most of the past month, the Cardinals produced nine runs in those opportunities on their way to a season high for runs and a 10-5 victory. Nearly one-third of the RBIs the Cardinals now have this season with the bases loaded came in the seventh inning Monday night.

“I don’t think it’s a secret,” Carpenter said. “We’ve been searching for runs. We’ve been searching for momentum, searching for just a good outing as an offense. Good to see us keep the line moving. Something that has been missing as an offense.”

The Angels held a 4-0 lead for most of the first half of the game. Five consecutive base hits opened the top of the seventh with Nolan Arenado’s leadoff homer sparking the rally. The decisive moments came with the bases loaded. Carpenter’s two-run single with the bases loaded tied the game, 4-4, and Paul Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home the run that gave the Cardinals their first lead. In the ninth, the Cardinals added on when two runs scored on an error – one committed with, yes, the bases loaded.

For an offense that has wheezed for more than any month, the trouble with the bases loaded was a symptom of a larger funk, but one of the costliest.

Twice in the past few weeks, the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs and failed to produce a run. When they did it in extra innings against the Chicago White Sox, it cost them the game and led to a lost series against the only team worse with the bases loaded than they are. Entering the three-game visit to Anaheim, the Cardinals had 10 plate appearances with the bases loaded and no outs thit season. They had one hit in that situation.

Overall, they started the day batting .125 with a .188 slugging percentage in 32 at-bats this season with the bases loaded. They had only four hits.

They’d reached base only seven times in those spots.

They reached base five times with the bases loaded in the seventh inning alone.

But first they added to the failures.

In the sixth inning, Masyn Winn’s leadoff double and two walks loaded the bases for the middle of the order. Goldschmidt had the first crack and with one swing he could have tied the game. Coming off an encouraging game Sunday in Milwaukee, Goldschmidt got his average to the brink of .200 with a single in the fourth inning. Walks by Carpenter and Lars Nootbaar chased Angels starter Jose Soriano and his 100-mph fastball from the game. Sidewinder Adam Cimber and his much slower, sweeping slider entered. Goldschmidt tapped a grounder to second that became an inning-ending double play.

“Didn’t come through that first time,” Goldschmidt said. “Just about the opposite of what we wanted. Walking up there, you’re still confident. You’re trying to look for a pitch you want to hit and what you want to do with it. You keep it simple.”

An inning later, Goldschmidt had another chance.

By then, one of the worst teams in baseball with the bases loaded got a boost from one of the best hitters of his era with the bases loaded.

Carpenter’s one-out at-bat in the seventh inning was the 103rd plate appearance of his career with the bases loaded. In those moments, the once and present Cardinal and three-time All-Star is a .437 hitter with a 1.112 OPS. (Aside: With the bases loaded and no outs, Carpenter has hit .727 in his career with a 1.546 slugging percentage and 24 RBIs in only 11 at-bats.) Carpenter’s .437 batting average with the bases loaded is the fourth-highest for a batter with at least 100 bases-loaded plate appearances since 1901, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The only hitters with a higher average at Pat Tabler (.489), Daniel Murphy (.448), and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn (.444). Carpenter’s OPS with the bases loaded is snug between Tris Speaker (1.119) and Ted Williams (1.107).

“I’m just trying to make sure I get a good pitch to hit in that situation,” Carpenter said. “I’ve always felt the pressure is on the pitcher. I always felt they (must) throw strikes. I hit in full counts a lot just in general, and there is no batter feeling than a full count with the bases loaded. There’s just nowhere to go as a pitcher. I’ve always just felt really good in those spots.”

Angels lefty Matt Moore fell behind 2-0 to Carpenter before challenging the leadoff hitter with a strike. Carpenter fouled it and the next pitch off to get the count even. He ignored a curveball out of the zone for the count to get full.

There was nowhere to put him.

There was nowhere else to go.

He got a fastball up and over the outer edge of the plate, and he pulled it through the infield for a single that tied the game, 4-4. Two batters later, after a walk reloaded the bases, Goldschmidt got his second chance, and his elbow guard left with an impression.

“I remember early in my career when guys got into scoring position or there was a big moment that I felt it, felt like my thought process became, ‘OK, this is a big moment,’ and that got me out of a good approach,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s not about trying to do too much. It’s about sticking to the game plan.”

The Angels turned to former Cardinal Luis Garcia to face Goldschmidt with the bases loaded. Goldschmidt didn’t have to get too deep into his approach because his first pitch, a sinker, Garcia plunked Goldschmidt to force home the go-ahead run. In six at-bats with the bases loaded this season, Goldschmidt is still looking for his first hit. The RBI (run bruised in) was his second of the season with the bases loaded.

The Cardinals would have seven RBIs with the bases loaded in the game, upping their season total from 17 to 24. In those spots, the Cardinals would go 2 for 7 (.286) and that actually raised their average this season with the bases loaded to .175. In a total of 10 plate appearances with the bases loaded Monday night – eight of which came in the seventh inning – the Cardinals conjured a total of nine runs, including two off an error. After Goldschmidt’s groundout to miss with the bases loaded in the sixth, the Cardinals produced an RBI in five of their next seven chances with the bases loaded.

“On to the next,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Let’s keep going. That’s the vibe. They continued to attack. We had an opportunity, missed on it, and then it’s on to the next moment and staying present for that next moment. You do that enough, you look up, and you’ve scored a couple of runs and won a ballgame.”

You do that enough and you’ve got a winning streak.