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PHOENIX (AP) — A lineup of almost all reserves wasn’t enough for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt grounded into a game-ending double play with two runners on base and the NL Central-leading Cardinals fell short during a ninth-inning rally, losing to the Diamondbacks 9-7 Wednesday.
The Cardinals, who went with a lineup of reserves to give their typical starters some rest after a 19-inning game, had their division lead cut to 1 ½ games by Milwaukee, which beat Cincinnati 9-2.
“Nothing about this game that didn’t indicate that we were all in,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We scored seven runs. We had the go-ahead run with Goldschmidt up at the plate. if you want more than that, I’d like to see you conjure it up.”
St. Louis and Arizona were back on the field about 11 hours after the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 marathon win, a game that took nearly seven hours Tuesday. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was pulled in the second inning with tightness in his right shoulder.
Shildt said more would be known Thursday, but that it appears to be a mild strain. The injury forced the already-taxed Cardinals to go to their bullpen much earlier than desired.
“You’re down four in the ninth. Teams with heart would pack that in,” Shildt said. “Teams with unbelievably high character and competitiveness and desire fight like crazy, and that’s what we did.”
Errors by rookie infielder Tommy Edman and catcher Matt Wieters helped Arizona score seven times in the sixth for a 9-5 lead. Wilmer Flores homered during the burst, which also included a run-scoring wild pitch.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and Wieters hit a two-run single. Goldschmidt was up next — he had homered in the first two games of the series, marking his return to the desert after the Diamondbacks traded their longtime star to St. Louis in the offseason.
Facing former teammate Archie Bradley, Goldschmidt hit a grounder and Arizona turned two to end it. Bradley got his 17th save.
“We were ready to go. They played a little bit better than us, made one more pitch, one more hit. It’s no big deal, we’re used to it,” Goldschmidt said.
Merrill Kelly (13-14) exited trailing 5-2 after six innings and wound up with the win.
Reliever Junior Fernandez (0-1) took the loss.
Cardinals rookie outfielder Randy Arozarena hit his first major league home run, stole home and threw out a runner at third base. Martinez added a triple, double and two RBIs.
Flores hit a two-run double in the first, and Wacha left with two outs in the second. Wacha has pitched well recently, but is 0-3 in 10 starts since rejoining the rotation in early August.
Only a combined three players from both teams who played the entirety of Tuesday’s night’s game were in the starting lineup Wednesday, and all played the whole way.
“It was a solid win on a day we were gassed,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “There was sloppy moments, and I expected that. We managed through those times.”
St. Louis took the lead in the fourth on the Cardinals’ first steal of home plate since September 2012. Arozarena beat the tag at home plate after a dropped pickoff throw to first base. The Diamondbacks lost their challenge of the safe call on the play.
Arozarena’s home run to left field in the top of the sixth gave the Cardinals a 5-2 lead.
“I feel 50-50 happy,” Arozarena said in Spanish. “I’m happy with what I did but would have liked our team to win. Everything is positive for us. Last night was so long, but that’s baseball in the big leagues. You’ve got to put it behind you.”
UP NEXT
Cardinals: After a day off for the team, RHP Dakota Hudson (16-7, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to start at home Friday in the series opener with the Chicago Cubs.
Diamondbacks: RHP Taylor Clarke (5-5, 5.40 ERA) is set for his first career start against the San Diego Padres on Friday after Arizona has the day off.
The Sergeant Bluff-Luton boys and Logan-Magnolia girls took team wins at the Tri-Center Cross Country Meet on Tuesday night. Dylan Blake of MVAOCOU was the boys race individual champ and Peyton Pogge of Tri-Center won the girls race.
Girls Team Scores
Girls Individual Top Ten
Boys Team Scores
Boys Individual Top Ten
Full results: Tri-Center-9-24
The Earlham boys and Nodaway Valley girls cross country teams came out on top of the Class B portion of the Creston Invitational on Tuesday night. Nodaway Valley’s Josh Baudler won the boys race and Earlham’s Lily Dixon won the girls race.
Girls Team Scores
Girls Individual Top Ten
Boys Team Scores
Boys Individual Top Ten
Full results can be found HERE.
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona had ample reasons to be a beaten-down ballclub one day after being officially eliminated from the National League playoff race.
Instead, the Diamondbacks powered through 19 innings of baseball, used 13 pitchers and earned an unlikely 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in a game that lasted nearly seven hours.
Ildemaro Vargas had a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning on Tuesday and then singled with the bases loaded in the 19th at 1:34 a.m. local time on Wednesday, sending Arizona’s players streaming from the dugout in celebration.
“We just didn’t shut down,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We had plenty of opportunities to feel sorry for ourselves and we didn’t. We scratched together some runs at the right time.”
Carson Kelly and Nick Ahmed started the final rally with back-to-back singles off John Brebbia (3-4), who was the Cardinals’ 11th pitcher of the night. Jarrod Dyson and Robbie Ray — a pitcher who had to pinch hit — struck out before Christian Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Then it was Vargas’ turn to be the hero again, smacking a single — his fourth hit of the game — through the left side of the infield. He raised his hands as players rushed the field.
“I was so excited, just pumped up,” Vargas said through an interpreter.
If Vargas hadn’t come through with the game-winning hit, he was going to be on the mound in the 20th inning because the D-backs were out of available pitchers.
“We didn’t have much to go on — that was it,” Lovullo said. “Luckily, we didn’t have to find out how that looked.”
The game last 6 hours and 53 minutes and featured 24 pitchers and 48 strikeouts, with both teams plowing through bullpen arms thanks to September’s expanded rosters. The Diamondbacks used a franchise-record 30 players. It was the longest game by innings and time in Chase Field history.
With the Rockies beating the Giants in 16 innings earlier, it marked the first time since June 8, 2013 — Mets-Marlins and Blue Jays-Rangers — more than one game went at least 15 innings the same day, according to MLB Stats.
These two teams were set to play again in Phoenix 11 hours later.
It’s a particularly tough turnaround for the Cardinals, who are locked in a playoff race with the Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis had its lead in the NL Central cut to 2 1/2 games over Milwaukee. The Cardinals have four games remaining and the Brewers have five.
The Cardinals’ bullpen blew two one-run leads, once in the ninth inning and again in the 13th as they wasted a stellar outing from starter Jack Flaherty.
St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said the team’s confidence wouldn’t be shaken.
“We’re in a good spot,” Shildt said. “We’re playing good baseball. Played good baseball tonight. Played clean. 19 innings and no errors. Played the game well. Just came up short.
Paul Goldschmidt looked like he’d be the hero after giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the 13th when he hit a homer for the second straight night in his return to Chase Field. The six-time All-Star spent his first eight seasons with the Diamondbacks before being traded to St. Louis last offseason.
Turns out, there was much more baseball left to play.
Ahmed started the D-backs’ 13th inning rally with a triple and then Dyson drew a walk off John Gant. Pinch-hitter Caleb Joseph ripped a single through the right side of the infield to tie the score at 2-2, but the rally stalled when Walker hit into a double play and Vargas grounded out.
Several hours before the game’s conclusion, Flaherty continued his run of outstanding pitching with seven brilliant innings, including a no-hitter through six, but Andrew Miller couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead in the ninth.
With one out, Vargas stunned the Cardinals with a solo shot that just cleared the fence in right-center field and tied the game. Miller retired the next two batters.
The Diamondbacks looked like they might rally in the 11th when Tim Locastro hit a one-out single. With two outs, Vargas hit a high chopper for an infield single but Locastro was thrown out at third when he barely slid past the bag while trying to take an extra base.
Flaherty, who finished with 11 strikeouts, has been brilliant for the Cardinals as they’ve charged to the top of the division. The right-hander has a 0.97 ERA during the second half of the season and has given up just seven earned runs over the past two months.
Dexter Fowler provided the Cardinals’ early offense, leading off the game with a solo homer to right field. It was Fowler’s 18th homer of the season, and 26th leadoff homer of his career.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (6-7, 4.68 ERA) allowed one run over four innings and in his previous outing against the Chicago Cubs.
Diamondbacks: RHP Merrill Kelly (12-14, 4.31) will head to the mound to begin a game that starts at 12:40 p.m. local time. He’ll bring a 15-inning scoreless streak into the game.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State guard Rasir Bolton will be eligible for the upcoming season, a move that should vastly improve the Cyclones’ chances of competing for an NCAA Tournament berth in 2019-20.
The Cyclones announced Tuesday that Bolton, who averaged 11.6 points per game last season as a freshman at Penn State, was granted an NCAA waiver for immediate eligibility. Iowa State said the NCAA considered unspecified circumstances surrounding his transfer from the Nittany Lions.
Bolton played 32 games for Penn State in 2018-19, shooting 36.1% on 3s and 87.6% from the line.
“We certainly appreciate Penn State for their assistance during the process and are grateful that the NCAA considered all the facts in coming to this decision,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.
The addition of Bolton should bolster a backcourt that was decimated by graduations and early departures.
Marial Shayok (18.7 points per game) and Nick Weiler-Babb (9.1 ppg) wrapped up their senior seasons in 2018-19 and underclassmen Talen Horton-Tucker and Lindell Wigginton, who combined to score 25.3 points a contest, left early for the NBA.
Bolton will likely start alongside graduate transfer Prentiss Nixon and ascending sophomore Tyrese Haliburton in the backcourt. Iowa State also returns senior forward Michael Jacobson, and center Solomon Young is expected to be healthy after battling injuries last year.
Iowa State went 23-12 and won the Big 12 Tournament in 2018-19 before losing to Ohio State as a No. 6 seed in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cyclones open the season on Nov. 5 against Mississippi Valley State.
The Atlantic boys came out on top of the field in the Class A portion of the Creston Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday night and the girls came in 3rd. Atlantic scored 49 points to win the boys race, ahead of Harlan with 83 in 2nd. Harlan won the girls race with 35 points. Glenwood came in 2nd with 81 and Atlantic was 3rd with 130. Individually, Craig Alan Becker of Atlantic won the boys race and Braelyn Baker of Creston won the girls race in Class A.
Girls Team Scores
Girls Individual Top Ten
Boys Team Scores
Boys Individual Top Ten
Full results can be found HERE.
Hawkeye Ten Conference
(3-0) Clarinda 25-25-25, Shenandoah 17-19-12
(3-0) Glenwood 25-25-25, Denison-Schleswig 14-15-21
(3-1) Kuemper Catholic 25-25-23-25, Creston 18-14-25-10
(3-0) Lewis Central 25-25-25, Harlan 10-21-14
Western Iowa Conference
(3-0) AHSTW 25-25-25, Missouri Valley 21-17-18
(3-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-25-25, Riverside 15-16-22
(3-0) Treynor 25-25-25, IKM-Manning 14-15-15
(3-0) Underwood 25-25-25, Audubon 14-16-15
Rolling Valley Conference
(3-0) Boyer Valley 25-25-25 Exira/EHK 19-14-20
(3-0) Coon Rapids-Bayard 25-25-25, Ar-We-Va 22-22-19
(3-0) Glidden-Ralston 25-25-25, Paton-Churdan 19-23-18
(3-1) West Harrison 25-26-17-25, CAM 18-24-25-22
Corner Conference
(3-1) East Mills 25-25-29-25, Fremont-Mills 18-16-29-18
(3-0) Griswold 25-25-25, Essex 20-10-14
West Central Activities Conference
(3-0) Des Moines Christain 23-25-27-25, ACGC 25-15-25-23
(3-1) Pleasantville 25-25-20-25, Ogden 15-17-25-15
(3-0) Woodward-Granger 25-25-25, Earlham 22-11-9
Pride of Iowa Conference
(3-0) Nodaway Valley 25-25-26, Bedford 20-16-24
(3-0) SE Warren 25-25-25, Central Decatur 16-20-19
(3-0) Southwest Valley 25-25-25 Lenox 6-8-22
(3-0) East Union 25-25-25, Wayne 16-16-18
Missouri River Conference
(3-0) Sioux City East 25-25-25, Council Bluffs Jefferson 5-17-21
(3-1) Sergeant Bluff-Luton 18-25-25-25, Council Bluffs Lincoln 25-19-20-21
Other Scores
(3-0) Heartland Christian 25-25-25 Parkview Christian 13-15-22
(2-0) Moravia 25-25 Diagonal 7-12
(2-0) Murray 25-25 Diagonal 11-10
(2-0) Murray 25-25 Moravia 14-17
(2-1) Melcher-Dallas 20-25-15 Orient-Macksburg 25-23-13
(2-0) Orient-Macksburg 25-25 Mormon Trail 19-19
Class 1A
Girls
1. Logan-Magnolia
9. AHSTW
10. Tri-Center
Boys
2. Nodaway Valley
10. Tri-Center
14. IKM-Manning
15. St. Albert
Class 2A
Girls
4. Panorama
8. ACGC
Class 3A
Girls
4. Harlan
10. Atlantic
14. Glenwood
Boys
12. Atlantic
Full rankings found HERE
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