Wetherholt’s Little League Grand Slam Breaks Petco Open, Cardinals Keep Rolling
JJ Wetherholt delivered the most important swing of the evening for St. Louis in San Diego, turning a routine grounder right into a Little League grand slam throughout a six-run fifth inning towards the Padres. The play gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead and helped shift management of a recreation already leaning their means after Michael McGreevy’s dominant begin.
The Cardinals stored rolling with a 6-1 win, their sixth straight highway victory and their ninth win in 11 video games total. McGreevy backed up the offense with a career-high 9 strikeouts, one hit allowed, and two walks, whereas Wetherholt’s hustle play turned the defining second at Petco Park.
How the play unfolded
St. Louis loaded the bases with consecutive singles by Masyn Winn and Nathan Church, then a one-out stroll to Victor Scott II arrange Wetherholt with the possibility to do injury. He despatched a grounder by the correct facet of the infield, however Fernando Tatis Jr. charged and missed the ball, which rolled to the wall and allowed the Cardinals to clear the bases.
Wetherholt was credited with a single and two RBIs on the play, regardless that the ball by no means left the infield. He mentioned he was making an attempt to go the opposite means, however ended up getting simply sufficient contact to discover a gap and power the chaotic sequence that adopted.
“It’s like the most I’ve ran in probably four years,” Wetherholt mentioned. “It was fun, though.”
A uncommon play that modified the tone
The second stood out as a result of it got here on a play that just about by no means occurs at that degree. McGreevy known as it a baseball oddity, saying, “That play happens once out of a billion times,” whereas additionally praising the run assist that adopted.
Manager Oli Marmol captured the scene from the dugout by joking, “Thirty third-base coaches,” after teammates leaned over the rail and waved Wetherholt round residence. The Cardinals stored the strain on within the inning, and the Padres by no means totally recovered.
McGreevy shines in a well-known ballpark
McGreevy, a first-round pick of UC Santa Barbara in 2021, grew up as a Padres fan and mentioned the outing carried further which means due to his ties to the realm. He allowed only one hit, struck out a career-high 9 and improved to 2-0 at Petco Park.
The right-hander additionally had about 80 family and friends members within the stands, though he joked that they weren’t all on the ticket listing due to a marriage he must pay for. After the sport, he mentioned performing in entrance of that many supporters made the evening really feel even greater.
Tatis’ missed play and the Padres’ response
Fernando Tatis Jr. was again in proper area after beginning at second base the earlier evening, and the three-time Gold Glove winner tried to make a fast play on Wetherholt’s grounder. Padres supervisor Craig Stammen defended the hassle, saying Tatis was “just trying to make a play” and that even elite gamers could make errors.
Tatis was not within the clubhouse when it opened to the media, however the Padres had already absorbed the injury from the inning. For St. Louis, the mix of McGreevy’s sharp pitching and Wetherholt’s Little League grand slam created the sort of win that may carry actual momentum on a highway journey.
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