The St. Louis Cardinals walked away from Chase Field with a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, a comeback built on small-ball plays and a late sacrifice fly that the D-backs couldn’t answer.
Game flow and turning points
St. Louis struck first in the opening inning when Masyn Winn delivered a two-run single off Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, giving the visitors a 2-0 edge. Arizona chipped away on a sacrifice fly by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the second and pulled even in the third when Tim Tawa homered for the Diamondbacks’ run that tied the game at 2.
- Masyn Winn was active all night — his bat produced early runs and he contributed defensively with multiple notable plays.
- JJ Wetherholt put St. Louis back in front with a solo homer in the fifth (his 14th).
- Arizona rallied in the eighth when Corbin Carroll launched a two-run home run (his 14th) to even the score at 4.
- In the ninth, Iván Herrera delivered the decisive run with a sacrifice fly off reliever Paul Sewald. The game ended when Riley O’Brien struck out Ketel Marte for the final out.
The pitching matchup featured Merrill Kelly for Arizona and Michael McGreevy for St. Louis. McGreevy worked through at least five innings and left with his team leading briefly before Arizona’s late push evened the contest. Bullpen swings in the eighth and ninth ultimately decided the outcome.
Key stats and moments
| Inning | Score change |
|---|---|
| Top 1 | STL 2 — Masyn Winn two-run single |
| Bot 2 | AZ 1 — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sac fly |
| Bot 3 | AZ 2 — Tim Tawa solo HR (4) |
| Top 5 | STL 3 — JJ Wetherholt solo HR (14) |
| Top 8 | STL 4 — Masyn Winn sac fly |
| Bot 8 | AZ 4 — Corbin Carroll two-run HR (14) |
| Top 9 | STL 5 — Iván Herrera sac fly (go-ahead) |
Defensively, Arizona had a couple of highlight plays, including a diving catch credited to Tim Tawa earlier in the game. St. Louis also flashed leather — a diving stop by Masyn Winn and a play by Nolan Arenado were noted during the middle innings.
What this means for Arizona
The loss leaves the Diamondbacks having fought back late but unable to complete the comeback. Corbin Carroll’s two-run homer illustrated the team’s power potential, while the ninth-inning finish underscored the importance of closing innings cleanly — both for starters and relievers. For fans at Chase Field, it was a game of swings: momentum shifts, bullpen matchups and small-ball manufacturing from the visitors.
Arizona will look to regroup in the next game of the series, focusing on late-inning bullpen execution and timely hitting to finish rallies when they mount them.
Final: Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 4.
