Colorado never trailed after the third inning, and Jake McCarthy made sure of it. He hit two home runs, one of them a two-run shot, and the Rockies held off a late Cardinals push to win 8-6 at Busch Stadium.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| STL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
McCarthy went 4-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs, four runs scored and two stolen bases, earning game MVP honors. He opened the scoring with a solo homer to right center in the first inning, then added a two-run blast to center in the sixth that plated Tovar and pushed Colorado's lead to 7-3. His night carried the Colorado offense through a game that swung several times before settling in the Rockies' favor.
The decisive shift came in the third inning. Trailing 1-2, Cole Carrigg doubled to center to score both Karros and McCarthy, putting Colorado back in front 3-2 for good. Colorado added to it later that inning when Hunter Goodman singled home Carrigg, and the Rockies kept building: TJ Rumfield's single drove in Carrigg again in the fifth, and McCarthy's second homer extended the cushion in the sixth. St. Louis chipped away with a sacrifice fly from Masyn Winn, a Herrera single, a Jordan Walker homer to left center in the eighth and a Nathan Church single in the ninth, but the Cardinals never caught up.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore took the loss, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits over 5.0 innings with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. St. Louis' bullpen covered 4.0 innings and allowed 3 runs. Colorado starter Kyle Freeland went 4.1 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits, and the Rockies' bullpen finished the job with 4.2 innings and 3 runs allowed. Parker Mushinski picked up the win in relief, and Jordan Romano worked the ninth for his 10th save of the season, permitting 1 run on 2 hits.
St. Louis fell to 58-59 with the loss, snapping any momentum after dropping this one. Colorado improved to 46-71, its first win after a loss.