In a thrilling matchup in St. Louis, Kyren Paris drove in the tying run for the Angels with a triple in the seventh inning, followed by Nolan Schanuel’s grounder that granted Los Angeles its first lead in extra innings. The Angels narrowly edged the Cardinals 5-4 on Monday night.
The Angels, spearheaded by Mike Trout’s two RBIs, found success with sacrifice flies, scoring three runs this way. The decisive moment came in the 10th inning, where, despite a lack of hits, strategic walks loaded the bases. Schanuel sent a ground ball to Cardinals’ second baseman, Brendan Donovan, whose throw home couldn’t quite catch Luis Rengifo, allowing Los Angeles to pull ahead 4-3. Trout later extended the lead with a deep sacrifice fly to center field that brought Paris home.
St. Louis attempted a comeback in the bottom of the 10th, when Victor Scott II hit a sacrifice fly to reduce the deficit. However, Los Angeles reliever Ryan Johnson, appearing for the second time in his major league career, shut the door by striking out Masyn Winn to secure his first save and clinch the victory.
Brock Burke earned the win for the Angels with a scoreless inning of relief, whereas JoJo Romero suffered the loss for the Cardinals.
An early highlight for St. Louis occurred in the first inning when Lars Nootbaar hit a deep drive that was initially ruled in play but adjusted to a home run after umpire discussion, granting the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Brendan Donovan also contributed with a home run, and Nolan Arenado added an RBI single for St. Louis.
A pivotal moment in the game was Kyren Paris’ line drive to left field in the seventh inning. The ball rolled to the wall, enabling Rengifo to score from first base, tying the game at 3.
Los Angeles’ patience at the plate was crucial, drawing five walks with four resulting in runs.
Looking ahead, the Angels will introduce right-hander Kyle Hendricks in his debut with the team on Tuesday. Hendricks, who has spent his career with the Chicago Cubs, holds a record of 97-81 and a 3.68 ERA over 11 seasons. For the Cardinals, Matthew Liberatore will take the mound.