This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Lars Nootbaar ripped a go-ahead, two-run single during the top of the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Victor Scott II added a solo homer for St. Louis, which won the rubber match of the three-game series. Scott’s blast marked the only extra-base hit for the Cardinals.
Willi Castro hit a solo homer to lead the Twins. Royce Lewis added an RBI double.
Cardinals right-hander Shawn Armstrong (3-2) earned the victory out of the bullpen with two-thirds of an inning. He was one of four relievers to follow starter Erick Fedde, who allowed one run on two hits in six innings. Fedde struck out seven.
Twins right-hander Jhoan Duran (6-7) blew the save in the ninth. He gave up a pair of unearned runs on three hits in one inning.
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley notched his 40th save with a scoreless ninth.
Nootbaar put St. Louis in position to win the weekend series with his two-run hit in the ninth. He drove in Jose Fermin and Brendan Donovan.
A throwing error by Twins second baseman Edouard Julien in the top of the ninth opened the door for Nootbaar’s go-ahead single.
Lewis gave the Twins a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth. Castro drew a leadoff walk, and Lewis drove him in with a pinch-hit double that hopped off the wall in left.
The Twins jumped on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first. Castro worked the count to 2-1 before belting Fedde’s fourth pitch 417 feet and over the wall in right field.
The shot marked Castro’s 11th homer of the season and his fourth of the month.
The Cardinals evened the score at 1-1 in the fifth. Scott went deep for a 402-foot shot to right field that marked the second homer of his rookie campaign.
Pedro Pages started at catcher for the Cardinals and finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Pages got the first start in place of Willson Contreras, who was placed on the 10-day injured list after he broke the middle finger on his right hand Saturday.
–Field Level Media
