Victor Scott II’s double just one of many critical plays in Cardinals comeback win in KC (2024)

KANSAS CITY— The three-run margin of victory doesn’t convey just how many potential pivot points the Cardinals willed in their favor on Friday night against their cross-state, interleague rivals.

With two outs in the eighth inning, the Cardinals trailed the Kansas City Royals by a run. Victor Scott II waited in the on-deck circle to find out the result of the video replay review. He wasn’t certain whether he’d get a chance to take a game-changing swing or if he’d have to march back to the dugout and hope to start a rally in the ninth inning.

Scott got his shot with two runners on, two outs, and the Cardinals trailing by a run. He smacked a double toward the right-field corner that scored both runners and gave the Cardinals their first lead since the third inning.

Scott celebrated at second base and shouted toward the dugout after one of the pivotal moments that put the Cardinals on their way to an 8-5 win over the Royals in the first game of a two-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Cardinals (60-57) won a game they trailed after seven innings for just the sixth time this season. They’ve now won three of their past four games, and they can split the season series with the Royals (64-53) with a win on Saturday.

“Probably on the inside, my heart rate went up a little bit,” Scott said. “My dad says I’m a duck on the pond. I may look like I’m calm on the outside, but on the inside I’m probably like, ‘I’ve got to do something here, especially with us down a run at that point of the game.’”

Scott, who has gone 4 for 19 since being recalled from the minors earlier this month, had four RBIs in 25 previous major-league games. His two in the eighth put the Cardinals ahead for good.

The Cardinals led going into the bottom of the third inning after a two-run home run by Willson Contreras (3 for 4, two home runs, four RBIs) gave them a lead just three batters into the game. Then Alec Burleson (3 for 5) homered in the third and made it a three-run advantage.

However, the Royals took control of the game starting in the bottom of the third. They scored three runs against Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas. They peppered him with four hits that inning and three more in a two-run fourth inning that gave them a 5-3 lead.

Cardinals reliever Matthew Liberatore came on in relief of Mikolas in the fifth inning. Mikolas allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings. He did not walk a batter, and he struck out three.

“I’d like to be sharper. Hit some more spots. Go deeper into games. Libby was tremendous today. Our bullpen has been great all year. He’s a big part of that. If you’re going to go to the playoffs and you’re going to make a run, you’re going to have days where you’ve got to pick up some guys. They picked me up big time today. I hope I can return the favor.”

Liberatore pitched three scoreless innings. He didn’t allow a hit, and walked just one. He quieted the Royals offense that scored five runs in the two innings right before Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol handed him the ball.

“He was nails,” Marmol said of Liberatore. “You look at what he did. I think 36 pitches. Three innings. He didn’t give up anything at all. And his stuff looked sharp. Sinker was good. Fastball was good. The slider looked really good. He got some punchouts. He was pretty dominant in his innings of work there. It was good to go to him that early and just shut them down.”

Liberatore (3-3) threw 36 pitches, 24 strikes, and used six different pitches from his arsenal. He struck out three batters. Most importantly, he bought the Cardinals offense some time to get into the Royals’ bullpen.

Liberatore's three innings were another pivotal juncture in the game.

The Cardinals chased Royals starter Michael Lorenzen from the game before the end of the fifth inning.

They then pulled within a run, 5-4, in the sixth inning against reliever Sam Long when Paul Goldschmidt walked, advanced to third on Nolan Gorman’s doubled, and scored on an RBI groundout by Tommy Pham.

It remained a one-run game into the eighth inning. Brendan Donovan (3 for 5) doubled to start that inning. After Goldschmidt grounded out and moved Donovan to second base, rookie catcher Pedro Pages pinch hit for Gorman and drew a walk to bring Pham to the plate with one out.

Pham hit a sharp grounder that got on Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia quickly. After an initial bobble, Garcia threw to second base and attempted to start a double play. Instead of breaking for the plate, Donovan remained at third even after Garcia threw to second base. The Cardinals could’ve been kicking themselves for that baserunning miscue.

Pham beat the throw to first as the Royals went for the double play. The Royals challenged the call, but the initial ruling stood after review. Pham’s hustle down the line proved another pivot point in the game. It alsoextended the inning at least one more at-bat.

That at-bat went to Scott.

Scott then lined a 2-1 changeup from former Cardinals pitcher and current Royals reliever Chris Stratton into the right-field corner and drove in the tying run, Donovan, and go-ahead run in Pham.

“In that situation where Pham’s play is being reviewed, I’m telling myself, ‘Okay. If he’s safe, this is definitely going to be a critical situation in the ballgame,’” Scott said. “Being able to come through right there is definitely special.”

The Cardinals then tacked on a pair of insurance runs onto their lead in the ninth inning.

Burleson singled up the middle and Contreras got another chance to do damage with a runner on base. Contreras crushed a first-pitch fastball from left-hander Angel Zerpa. The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 111.3 mph and cleared the digital scoreboard beyond the left field wall and the visiting team’s bullpen.

“He’s a lot of fun to watch,” Burleson said of Contreras. “He’s got power. He takes really good at-bats. We needed him. Obviously, he got hurt earlier, but it would’ve been nice to have him.

“I think we put ourselves in a position where we were able to kind of stay afloat without him. Now, he’s here and he’s been tremendous. It’s a lot of fun with the 1-2-3 we’ve got, and I like being in the middle of it.”

Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to close the game for the Cardinals. Helsley gave up a hit and a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but he got a game-ending double play to secure his MLB-leading 37th save of the season.

The Cardinals bullpen allowed a total of two hits and three walks in five innings.