Goldschmidt runs HR streak to five
ST. LOUIS — Having found his wandering self in Pittsburgh as he homered in four consecutive games, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt put his rediscovered swing on display at Busch Stadium on Friday night — with the same result.
His fifth home run in five games, a personal best, was a go-ahead, three-run blast to center field in the eighth inning as the Cardinals rallied twice to overcome the Houston Astros 5-3.
Goldschmidt’s shot to center off reliever Ryan Pressly knocked in Dexter Fowler — who had walked — and Harrison Bader — running for Jose Martinez, who had doubled. It gave Goldschmidt 12 RBI for those five games.
“I just tried to keep the same attitude even when I wasn’t getting results,” Goldschmidt said. “Just show up, prepare and work hard and try and go help us win the
next day. That’s what my mindset is now and will be tomorrow.”
Goldschmidt’s five-game run is one shy of the club record shared by Matt Carpenter and Mark McGwire.
“It’s the year of the homer, so it shouldn’t surprise me,” Houston Manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s been hitting the ball out of the ballpark. It was a big swing for him. They just beat us.”
Carlos Martinez nailed down the Cardinals’ sixth consecutive victory with his 10th save of the season.
The Cardinals now hold sole possession of first place in the National League Central Division for the first time since May 6 after Chicago lost to Milwaukee.
Jack Flaherty, who has had nine no-decisions and no victories in his past 12 games, left trailing 2-1. The game would result in yet another no-decision for the Cardinals’ righthander.
Houston had gone ahead 3-2 in the top of the eighth on a bases-loaded walk by Andrew Miller with two outs after Cardinals catcher Matt Wieters had homered in the seventh to tie the score at 2-2.
Winless since May 14 overall and since April 28 at home, Flaherty allowed two runs in six innings. He gave up three hits and struck out nine.
Flaherty required 40 pitches to set down the Astros for the first three innings, stranding Yuli Gurriel, who had doubled with two outs in the second when Flaherty induced Josh Reddick to ground sharply to second baseman Kolten Wong. Flaherty fanned George Springer twice in the first three innings.
Right-hander Jose Urquidy, making his fourth start for Houston after opening the year in Class AA, permitted one hit, Fowler’s single, over the first three frames.
Flaherty walked his first man, Alex Bregman, with one out in the fourth. Then he allowed his first runs as Michael Brantley ripped a 415foot home run, his 16th of the season, off a Flaherty changeup as Houston grabbed a 2-0 lead.
Flaherty would strike out three hitters in the inning, giving him seven for the night, but it took him 32 pitches.
The Cardinals cut the lead in half in the fourth on singles by Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill and Wong, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with his two-out RBI hit to right center.
Flaherty departed after throwing 108 pitches in six innings.
Wieters, who has nine home runs this season and seven in his past 15 games, pulled a Will Harris cutter into the right-field seats to tie the game at 2-2 in the seventh. Wieters’ ninth home run came in only his 114th atbat this season and topped his total of eight in 235 at-bats last year in Washington. In 2017 with the Nationals, the switch hitter had 10 home runs, but in 422 at-bats.
The Astros, playing National League rules, finally got to employ their dangerous designated hitter, Yordan Alvarez, as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Alvarez promptly rifled a double to left center off John Gant, who then retired Springer on a liner to center before walking both Jose Altuve and Bregman, summoning Miller to face Brantley with the bases loaded.