Game 5
Evened up, the series returns to Houston to finish up.
The Cardinals went away from their game 1 starter (Blake Snell) and tapped game 2's hot
hand, Andrew Heaney. A rematch sounded good to Houston who put Tyler Glasnow on the bump
to contest him.
Would it be a 12-2 slugfest ala game 3 or a tight 1-0 battle like the previous matchup.
The scoring would start early and keep on throughout the game. After a quiet top of the
first, Houston gets on the board first behind a Jordan Luplow HR to "deep" left. After a
quick no-score 2nd inning, the Cardinals take advantage of a Josh Donaldson error in the
top of the 3rd to get the lead runner (Ryan Braun) on. Lindor forces Braun at second and
then steals second. A Freddy Freeman single evens the score up, but that was all for them
in the top of the 3rd. This the Stros cannot abide as they plate a run of their own in the
bottom of the 3rd. Heaney struck out 3 in the inning but also gave up 2 walks, a hit, and
a wild pitch. Houston 2-1.
The hometown crowd basked in their lead for all of 5 minutes. With 1 out, Manny Machado is
gifted second base by a Corey Seager error. 3 batters later, Wilson Ramos puts a single up
the middle to tie the game, 2-2. A couple of 1-2-3 half innings put us in the bottom of the
5th with the Astros looking to get on the board. And do they. 2 3R homers later, the
Cardinals are reeling and looking at an 8-2 deficit.
The Astros tack on 4 more runs the next inning on 2 more HRs, leaving the score at 12-2.
Shellshocked, the Cardinals go quietly until the 9th inning, where they muster one last rally.
It was not enough, though, and the Astros close out the series with a 12-4 win.
Astros 12 - Cardinals 4
From the Cardinals side, standout performances by:
Freddy Freeman .400/.435/.450
Willie Calhoun .294/.368/.529
Lance McCullers 5.1IP, 6H, 0ER, 0BB, 7Ks
From the Astros:
Luke Voit .429/.500/1.095
Nick Senzel .462/.533/.846
Corey Seager .450/.450/.550
The run differential for the series was 33-15 in favor of the Astros. Anytime that's the
case and you still get your team to a game 5, you're pulling the right levers somewhere,
so congratulations to Greg on a great series and another great season. -- Chris Roy
10/7/2021, StL21-Hou21, Minute Maid Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2021 Cardinals 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 1 8 1
2021 Astros 1 0 1 0 6 4 0 0 x 12 12 2 4 0
Cardinals AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB
Lindor ss 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .136 0 1 0 0
Freeman,F 1b 5 0 4 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 6 0 0 0
Hicks,A cf 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .053 1 0 0 0
Hoskins dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188 0 0 0 0
Machado,M 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263 0 0 0 0
Lux 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 2 3 1 0
Calhoun,W lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294 1 0 0 0
Ramos,W c 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 12 0 0 1
Braun rf 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 2 0 0 0
Heaney p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 3 0 0
Neris p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Guerra,D p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Sborz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Kennedy,I p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
36 4 8 4 2 0 0 3 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 7 1 1
Astros AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB
Voit 1b 4 2 2 5 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 9 2 0 0
Grandal c 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217 9 0 0 0
Luplow cf 5 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .353 0 0 0 0
Joyce rf 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .056 3 0 0 0
Canha lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .118 1 1 0 0
Donaldson 3b 4 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .105 1 2 1 0
Santana,Do dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0
Senzel 2b 3 3 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .462 1 4 0 0
Seager,C ss 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .450 2 3 1 0
Glasnow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0
Grotz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Giles p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
37 12 12 12 2 0 5 3 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 12 2 0
Cardinals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA
Heaney L 1-1 4.1 6 6 5 2 5 80 53 21 2 0 0 1 1 4.76
Neris 0.2 2 3 3 1 2 18 10 5 1 0 0 0 0 40.50
Guerra,D 0.1 3 3 3 0 1 14 10 5 2 0 0 0 0 20.25
Sborz 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 16 12 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Kennedy,I 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 13 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
8.0 12 12 11 3 13 141 93 40 5 0 0 1 1
Astros INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA
Glasnow W 1-1 5.0 3 2 0 3 4 79 46 22 0 0 0 0 0 1.59
Grotz H 1 3.1 4 2 2 0 4 63 42 14 0 0 0 1 0 4.15
Giles 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 13 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
9.0 8 4 2 3 9 155 95 39 0 0 0 1 0
GWRBI: Voit
Temperature: 75, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 3 MPH.
10/7/2021, StL21-Hou21, Minute Maid Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2021 Cardinals 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 1 8 1
2021 Astros 1 0 1 0 6 4 0 0 x 12 12 2 4 0
Cardinals -----A------ -----B------ -----C------ -----D------ -----E------
Lindor ss 1>63 46/f.B-1 5>63 63 Giles
k
Freeman,F 1b S SB2 k D S.3-H;2-H
note 1
Hicks,A cf 53.1-2 31 3 wp.2-3 9
9
Hoskins dh k 4>43 6>W 8>k
Machado,M 3b 2>k e6.B-2 Grotz 3/g
36/f.B-1
Lux 2b W W S.1-2 k
Calhoun,W lf 9 note 2 7 9>S
Ramos,W c 43 S.2-H;1-2 43 k
Braun rf 3>e5.B-1 k 7>k D.1-3
1: S.2-H;Bx2(754) 2: 5/f.1-2;B-1
Astros -----A------ -----B------ -----C------ -----D------ -----E------
Voit 1b 1>13 W.1-2 HR.2-H;1-H HR.1-H k
Grandal c 9 S.2-H;1-2 k+pb.B-1 k 8>Kennedy,I
63
Luplow cf HR wp.2-3;1-2 4 HR k
k
Joyce rf 43 k Neris e4.B-1 k
W.1-2
Canha lf 2>7 4>13 k Sborz
9
Donaldson 3b S 43 HR.2-H;1-H 8
Santana,Do dh 143/gdp k k 7>k
Senzel 2b 3>W 5>S 6>D D
Seager,C ss k S.1-2 Guerra,D k
S.2-H
Cardinals IN OUT ER Astros IN OUT ER
Heaney A1 C3 5 L 1-1 Glasnow A1 C4 0 W 1-1
Neris C4 C8 3 Grotz C5 D9 2 H 1
Guerra,D C9 D4 3 Giles E1 E3 0
Sborz D5 E1 0
Kennedy,I E2 E4 0
10/7/2021, StL21-Hou21, Minute Maid Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2021 Cardinals 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 1 8 1
2021 Astros 1 0 1 0 6 4 0 0 x 12 12 2 4 0
Score O Rnr BS Event
----- - --- -- -----
************** Top of the 1st inning, Cardinals batting
0-0 0 --- 10 Lindor grounded out to short (BX)
0-0 1 --- 11 Freeman,F lined a single up the middle (BSX)
0-0 1 1-- 00 Hicks,A grounded out to third, Freeman,F to second (X)
0-0 2 -2- 32 Hoskins struck out (BSCBFBS)
************** Bottom of the 1st inning, Astros batting
0-0 0 --- 31 Voit grounded out to the mound (BBBCX)
0-0 1 --- 01 Grandal flied out to right (CX)
0-0 2 --- 00 Luplow homered deep to left (X)
0-1 2 --- 32 Joyce grounded out to second (BCBBSFX)
************** Top of the 2nd inning, Cardinals batting
0-1 0 --- 22 Machado,M struck out (CBBSS)
0-1 1 --- 32 Lux walked (SCBBFBB)
0-1 1 1-- 01 Calhoun,W flied out to right (CX)
0-1 2 1-- 11 Ramos,W grounded out to second (BSX)
************** Bottom of the 2nd inning, Astros batting
0-1 0 --- 12 Canha flied out to left (CBFX)
0-1 1 --- 10 Donaldson lined a single up the middle (BX)
0-1 1 1-- 11 Santana,Do grounded into a double play, Heaney to Lux to
Freeman,F (FBX)
************** Top of the 3rd inning, Cardinals batting
0-1 0 --- 22 Braun to first on an error by the third baseman Donaldson
(BBCFX)
0-1 0 1-- 11 Lindor grounded to second, forcing Braun at second,
Lindor to first (BCX)
0-1 1 1-- 00 Lindor stole second (>C)
0-1 1 -2- 02 Freeman,F lined a single to shallow left, Lindor scored,
Freeman,F out at second (>C.FX)
1-1 2 --- 11 Hicks,A grounded out to first (CBX)
************** Bottom of the 3rd inning, Astros batting
1-1 0 --- 31 Senzel walked (BSBBB)
1-1 0 1-- 22 Seager,C struck out (SFBBC)
1-1 1 1-- 32 Voit walked, Senzel to second (BCBBCB)
1-1 1 12- 11 Grandal lined a single to shallow left, Senzel scored,
Voit to second (CBX)
1-2 1 12- 01 Heaney threw a wild pitch, Voit to third, Grandal to
second (CB)
1-2 1 -23 12 Luplow struck out (CB.SFS)
1-2 2 -23 12 Joyce struck out (BSCFS)
************** Top of the 4th inning, Cardinals batting
1-2 0 --- 10 Hoskins grounded out to second (BX)
1-2 1 --- 01 Machado,M to second on an error by the shortstop Seager,C
(CX)
1-2 1 -2- 32 Lux walked (CBBBCB)
1-2 1 12- 00 Calhoun,W grounded to third, forcing Machado,M at third,
Lux to second, Calhoun,W to first (X)
1-2 2 12- 00 Ramos,W grounded a single up the middle, Lux scored,
Calhoun,W to second (X)
2-2 2 12- 32 Braun struck out (BBSCB>S)
************** Bottom of the 4th inning, Astros batting
2-2 0 --- 02 Canha grounded out to the mound (FCFX)
2-2 1 --- 00 Donaldson grounded out to second (X)
2-2 2 --- 02 Santana,Do struck out (CFC)
************** Top of the 5th inning, Cardinals batting
2-2 0 --- 31 Lindor grounded out to short (CBBBX)
2-2 1 --- 12 Freeman,F struck out (CBCFS)
2-2 2 --- 10 Hicks,A popped out to first (BX)
************** Bottom of the 5th inning, Astros batting
2-2 0 --- 21 Senzel grounded a single up the middle (SBBX)
2-2 0 1-- 12 Seager,C lined a single to shallow left, Senzel to second
(BFSX)
2-2 0 12- 12 Voit homered deep to left, Senzel scored, Seager,C scored
(CBCX)
2-5 0 --- 12 Grandal struck out, strike three was a passed ball
charged to Ramos,W, Grandal to first (BCSS)
2-5 0 1-- 02 Luplow popped out to second (CCX)
Neris now pitching
2-5 1 1-- 30 Joyce walked, Grandal to second (BBBB)
2-5 1 12- 12 Canha struck out (CCBS)
2-5 2 12- 22 Donaldson homered deep down the right field line, Grandal
scored, Joyce scored (BCBSX)
2-8 2 --- 12 Santana,Do struck out (CCBC)
************** Top of the 6th inning, Cardinals batting
2-8 0 --- 31 Hoskins walked (BBBCB)
Grotz now pitching
2-8 0 1-- 21 Machado,M grounded to first, forcing Hoskins at second,
Machado,M to first (BCBX)
2-8 1 1-- 22 Lux singled to shallow center, Machado,M to second
(BCBCFX)
2-8 1 12- 10 Calhoun,W flied out to left (BX)
2-8 2 12- 12 Ramos,W grounded out to second (BSCFX)
************** Bottom of the 6th inning, Astros batting
2-8 0 --- 00 Senzel lined a double to left center (X)
Guerra,D now pitching
2-8 0 -2- 20 Seager,C lined a single down the left field line, Senzel
scored (BBX)
2-9 0 1-- 02 Voit homered deep to left, Seager,C scored (SCX)
2-11 0 --- 12 Grandal struck out (BSCS)
2-11 1 --- 11 Luplow homered deep to right (BFX)
2-12 1 --- 00 Joyce to first on an error by the second baseman Lux (X)
Sborz now pitching
2-12 1 1-- 00 Canha flied out to right (X)
2-12 2 1-- 10 Donaldson flied out to center (BX)
************** Top of the 7th inning, Cardinals batting
2-12 0 --- 12 Braun struck out (FBFC)
2-12 1 --- 21 Lindor grounded out to short (BCBX)
2-12 2 --- 22 Freeman,F grounded a double down the first base line
(BBSFFFFX)
2-12 2 -2- 21 Grotz threw a wild pitch, Freeman,F to third (BBFB)
2-12 2 --3 31 Hicks,A flied out to right (BBFB.X)
************** Bottom of the 7th inning, Astros batting
2-12 0 --- 12 Santana,Do struck out (CBFS)
2-12 1 --- 10 Senzel lined a double to left center (BX)
2-12 1 -2- 02 Seager,C struck out (CFC)
2-12 2 -2- 12 Voit struck out (CFBS)
************** Top of the 8th inning, Cardinals batting
2-12 0 --- 02 Hoskins struck out (FFS)
2-12 1 --- 10 Machado,M grounded out to first (BX)
2-12 2 --- 12 Lux struck out (CBFS)
************** Bottom of the 8th inning, Astros batting
Kennedy,I now pitching
2-12 0 --- 21 Grandal grounded out to short (BCBX)
2-12 1 --- 02 Luplow struck out (SSS)
2-12 2 --- 32 Joyce struck out (BBBCFS)
************** Top of the 9th inning, Cardinals batting
2-12 0 --- 12 Calhoun,W lined a single to shallow left (CCBFX)
2-12 0 1-- 22 Ramos,W struck out (FBSBFFS)
2-12 1 1-- 21 Braun grounded a double down the third base line,
Calhoun,W to third (BBCX)
Giles now pitching
2-12 1 -23 22 Lindor struck out (CFBBFS)
2-12 2 -23 21 Freeman,F grounded a single up the middle, Calhoun,W
scored, Braun scored (BCBX)
4-12 2 1-- 20 Hicks,A flied out to right (BBX)