In the early morning game of July 22, the Cardinals “ripped apart” Coors Field with a full-on offensive performance. Lars Nootbaar kicked off the storm with a game-defining home run. Not long after, Willson Contreras – who wore the enthusiastic number 40 – unleashed a decisive hit, raising his season total to 26 RBIs and pushing the Rockies deeper and deeper.
Arenado, the old Colorado hero, didn’t need to do anything too flashy – just a smile, a high-five in the dugout, was enough to make the stadium sour.
Sonny Gray – with a 3.51 ERA – locked down the home team with a cold series of pitches, winning the pitch with a terrifying certainty. The Rockies could only hope for a few glimmers of hope, but none of them were enough to spark.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals scored runs in the second, fifth and seventh innings – each time a slap in the face to Colorado’s fragile ambitions. From Brendan Donovan with his .316 AVG to Goldschmidt and Gorman, every link in the chain was working like a machine.
With the worst home record in MLB (8–37), the Rockies were nothing but disappointment. Hunter Goodman continued to be the lone bright spot with 29 RBIs, but he couldn’t stand alone against a powerful, win-hungry St. Louis Cardinals. Louis.
This victory was more than a game – it was a statement. The Cardinals were no longer faltering, they had regained their grit, their ruthlessness, their fiery passion. And if you heard the crack of sticks in the distance – maybe that was the Cardinals coming, ready to take down anyone who got in their way.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4576346/130724965.jpg)
“That’s a WINNER!” – it was more than a slogan. It was a warning.
And this time, it was written in bright red blood in Denver.