KANSAS CITY 鈥 Before Brendan Donovan鈥檚 defensive prowess helped the Cardinals escape the eighth inning with their one-run lead intact, what manager Oliver Marmol saw as 鈥渒ey鈥 to his club鈥檚 Saturday win over the Royals relied on where Willson Contreras positioned himself on the infield grass.
Knowing Jonathan India might attempt a sacrifice bunt that could put two runners in scoring position for former batting champion Bobby Witt Jr., Contreras positioned himself more than halfway down the first base line once India found himself in a 1-0 count against Kyle Leahy and looked to bunt. India took the next pitch he saw from Leahy and did not attempt to bunt once the count reached 2-1 as Contreras continued to begin each pitch halfway down the first base line and ended each one creeping closer to home plate.
India鈥檚 reluctance to bunt put him in a 2-2 count, keeping runners on first and second base. That put Donovan in a position to initiate a double play on a ground ball by India, which was stopped on a diving grab from the former utility Gold Glove winner to help lift the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
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鈥淵ou have to have some real stones to do what our first baseman did,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淗e is right up on India there. ... That鈥檚 what sets up that whole inning. For him to have the courage to do it was awesome.鈥
After getting into a two-strike count, India hit a sinking line drive to second base. That forced Donovan to range to his left and pick the baseball as it took a short hop off the infield dirt.
As Drew Waters retreated to second base and then changed direction to sprint to third once he saw Donovan field the grounder, Donovan flipped the ball to Masyn Winn to get a force-out at second base. The pick and flip set a double play into motion that ended with Nolan Arenado tagging out Waters on the base paths.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e kind of just going based on depth perception,鈥 Donovan said of the double play. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 really know how hard it鈥檚 hit. You do know that you kind of got to come get it so it doesn鈥檛 eat you up.鈥
In the next at-bat, Donovan made a diving stop on a sharply hit ground ball from Witt that skipped toward center field but was stopped on the infield dirt. After the clean grab, Donovan tossed the ball to Winn from one knee as Winn raced to second base to record an inning-ending force-out.
The sure-handed defense helped the Cardinals (26-20) preserve a one-run lead they took on a solo home run from Jordan Walker in the sixth inning. The home run was Walker鈥檚 first since April 13 and represented one of two hits the Cardinals produced on Saturday after they were held hitless by Royals rookie Noah Cameron through 4 2/3 innings.
What the defense did to deliver a win that lifted the Cardinals to a season-high six games above .500 provided an emotional jolt their bats couldn鈥檛.
鈥淚 was saying it after the game today,鈥 Winn said. 鈥淭his was probably the worst game we鈥檝e had offensively all year, and after the game, it鈥檚 probably the best vibes we鈥檝e had all year. Obviously our pitching was amazing, but that defense fired everybody up, especially in the eighth inning. That was special. We needed those outs.鈥
The stability in the field continued a trend that has been evident through 46 games for the Cardinals. It provided the club with another example of its ability to win games through different facets.
鈥淏efore you guys walked in here, that clubhouse was erupting at the fact that they just continue to do the little things well, and they鈥檙e taking a ton of pride in it and supporting each other in that process,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淭hey know they鈥檙e good. They know they鈥檙e good at defense. They continue to show it every single day. It鈥檚 something you build off of, and there鈥檚 a lot of confidence that goes into it.鈥
Along with the strong defense in the eighth inning, the Cardinals recorded an out on a leaping play at the center field wall by Victor Scott II that took a potential extra-base hit away from Vinnie Pasquantino in the fourth inning. An inning prior, Arenado made a lunging play on a line drive India pulled down the third base line.
Plays like Arenado鈥檚 and Scott鈥檚 helped starter Miles Mikolas get through six scoreless innings on 76 pitches.
The defensive stops didn鈥檛 stop there.
While he was shaded closer to second base with Pasquantino batting in the ninth inning, the combination of Winn鈥檚 sliding grab after ranging to his right, his strong throw to first base after quickly popping up to his feet and Contreras鈥 stretch nabbed Pasquantino for the first out of the ninth inning.
The slick play by Winn capped a string of defense that helped the Cardinals to their seventh win of their nine-game road trip. It helped closer Ryan Helsley convert his ninth save of the year and gave the Cardinals an added confidence on how their defense can influence games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 insane. I was talking to talking to (Marmol) before the game, and it feels like everybody on the field ... it鈥檚 like we have one of the best defenses in the world,鈥 Winn said. 鈥淚 think we all just feed off each other, making great plays, and it fires us all up.鈥
