The Cardinals were following a familiar script on Thursday night.
On the precipice of really building some momentum (especially at home) and sweeping the San Diego Padres, the wheels were coming off. They were in the friendly embrace of Busch Stadium, facing a poor team, throwing their ace – a real peach of scenario for a win…
2-0 after 5.
4-1 after 7.
5-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th.
Cardinals fans had seen this game many times in 2016 – two steps forward, two steps back. About to put another game in the books that was less than inspired.
Then, Piscotty.
The #STLCards have now homered in 12 straight games, their longest streak since 2006. Video: https://t.co/dlTzTFEg69 pic.twitter.com/sBJMINyL9e
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 22, 2016
That home run tied the game at 5 and shot a jolt of electricity through Busch Stadium and Cardinals fans watching at home. They went on to complete the sweep an inning later with a walk-off single from Aledmys Diaz in the bottom of the 9th.
Happy time.
95 games down, the Cardinals finally have a win they can bookmark and go – ‘yes, yes we can pull this out’. Time will tell, but the highlight above might just be the exact moment that they flipped from playoff pretender into playoff contender.
Just one game of 162? Yes.
Just one play in a season of thousands? Yes.
But success begets success when the dog days of summer set in. And the Cardinals, have reached 7 games over .500, matching their high water mark for the season. If you’re making odds, this has to be the favorite for ‘turning point 2016’.
Photo: Cardinals Report
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