ST. LOUIS — Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez came within one strike of stranding two runners in scoring position and getting out of the 10th inning unscathed. Instead, he walked Washington Nationals infielder Trey Lipscomb and then gave up a two-out three-run triple on a line drive that right fielder Dylan Carlson misjudged and couldn’t catch while on the run.

The three-run triple flipped the outlook of extra innings and the game. The Nationals tacked on another run via an infield single as the Cardinals fell, 10-8, in front of an announced crowd of 41,382 for the first game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

The loss dropped the Cardinals' record to 5-8 in extra-inning games this season.

The Cardinals (53-50) entered the night having struggled against left-handed pitchers this season. They put up six runs in the first three innings with a southpaw on the mound to start for the Nationals. The lion’s share of the damage came courtesy of home runs by rookie shortstop Masyn Winn (2 for 5, three RBIs) and veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado (1 for 4) in a five-run second inning.

However, the offense stagnated after that early success, and they had just two hits from the fifth through ninth innings.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (2 for 5) hit a 10th-inning two-run home run for his 2,000th career hit, but it only served to make the final score a bit closer.

Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. He also struck out seven, and he turned a one-run lead over to the bullpen.

The Nationals (48-56) tied the score in the seventh inning against the Cardinals bullpen and set the stage for the extra frame.

Yepez makes his return

Former Cardinals outfielder/infielder Juan Yepez made his first appearance at Busch Stadium as a member of the visiting team on Friday night. Yepez, 26, batted cleanup and started at first base for the Nationals in the series opener.

A right-handed hitting first baseman and 2021 Cardinals Minor League co-Player of the Year, Yepez came to the Cardinals from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Matt Adams as part of traded in 2017. He made his major league debut in May of 2022. In 104 games over the course of two seasons, Yepez batted .240 with a .286 on-base percentage and a .419 slugging percentage with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs for the Cardinals.

In the 2022 NL wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Yepez hit a pinch-hit two-run home run and became the first Cardinal to homer in his first postseason plate appearance since Tommy Pham in 2015.

This winter, the Cardinals did not tender a contract to Yepez, and they allowed him to become a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with the Nationals in December. The Nationals selected his contract and brought him up to the majors on July 5.

Yepez hit safely in his first 15 games, the longest streak by a Nationals player to start his career (from 2005 through the present). His streak ended on Thursday, when the San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease recorded a no-hitter against the Nationals.

Yepez went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs in the series opener.

Gray gives up a two-spot in the second

After Gray struck out the side in the first inning, Yepez singled on the ground into left field to start the second. Then Keibert Ruiz smacked a one-out single that put runners on first and second with one out. The fourth batter of the inning, Luis Garcia Jr. lined a two-run double into the right-center field gap. Carlson, the right fielder, appeared to take a route to the ball as if he expected to cut it off before it got to the gap. Instead, the ball got past Carlson and to the wall.

Garcia stole third base, but Gray stranded him there after a strikeout and a swinging bunt fielded by catcher Pedro Pages for the final out of the inning.

A southpaw sandwich

The Nationals started left-hander MacKenzie Gore against the Cardinals in the series opener. Gore is one of two left-handed starters slated to start against the Cardinals in the series. Right-hander Jake Irvin (7-8, 3.44) will start on Saturday, followed by left-hander DJ Herz (1-4, 4.95) on Sunday.

The Cardinals began play on Friday night having batted .223 with a .288 on-base percentage and a .335 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers this season.

With a left-handed pitcher on the mound for the Nationals on Friday, Carlson started in right field for the Cardinals. Carlson entered the night batting .207 this season, but he has batted .292 with a .806 OPS against left-handed pitching for his career in the majors.

Carlson, a switch hitter, entered the day having had three previous at-bats against Gore. Carlson had gone 2 for 3 with two home runs in those three previous matchups. He’d also walked twice against Gore.

A Mac attack by the Cardinals offense

The Cardinals scored five runs on four hits against Gore in the third inning. Two of the hits were home runs, a two-run blast by Winn and a three-run homer down the left field line by Arenado.

Michael Siani’s leadoff walk set the table for Winn’s sixth home run of the season (five have come against left-handed pitchers). Winn crushed a 2-0 fastball on the inner third of the plate an estimated 417 feet to left-center field. That tied the score 2-2.

Willson Contreras then singled for the second time in the game, and Alec Burleson swatted a single — his 100th hit of the season — to put two men on base in front of Arenado. With no outs, Arenado got just enough of a 1-0 fastball in the upper third of the zone to power it 352 feet down the line and just out of the reach of the Nationals’ 6-foot-7 left fielder James Wood.

Gray grinds, clings to lead

The Cardinals led 5-2 on the strength of the five-run third inning. The Nationals cut into the deficit with a run in the fourth thanks to Garcia’s one-out RBI single. Garcia drove in the first three runs against Gray.

After the Cardinals restored the three-run margin via Winn’s fourth-inning RBI single on a chopper that squeaked through the left side of the infield, the Nationals again responded against Gray.

Gray allowed two walks, a one-out RBI double and an RBI grounder to first base in the fifth inning. The two runs pulled the Nationals within a run, 6-5, and marked the third time in his past four starts that Gray allowed at least five runs, including a road start against the Nationals on July 5.

©2024 STLtoday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.