Defense and 'pen shine, set up Pujols' winner in 13th

CINCINNATI -- When you get deep into the regular season, it’s all about finding a way to win games when you’re not playing your best. And in Wednesday’s series finale against the Reds, the Cardinals weren't.

St. Louis found itself on the ropes with the winning run for Cincinnati just 90 feet away in both the 11th and 12th innings. But through resiliency on the mound and strong situational defense, the Cardinals found a way to sneak out of trouble and buy time for their lineup to break through in a 5-3 victory at Great American Ball Park.

In need of three outs with little room for error, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol resorted to the seldom-used five-man infield in the 11th, and it worked to perfection.

With right-hander Andre Pallante on the mound, Marmol moved left fielder Nolan Gorman onto the right side of the infield. Infielder Tommy Edman twice made a game-saving stop at shortstop after Pallante induced a ground ball, firing the ball to catcher Yadier Molina, who applied the tag to keep the score tied.

“That was a cool situation where a unique shift like that ended up paying off,” Edman said. “Pallante did a good job of keeping the ball on the ground. I think we did that because he’s a big ground-ball pitcher. It totally made sense in that situation, and it paid off.”

“Baseball is a crazy game,” said Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley. “We scored 13 runs the first night, and then tonight struggled to get five. It was a lot of fun being out there. The guys stayed with it and were able to pull through.”

Once Jose Quintana departed in the fifth inning, the Cardinals' bullpen dealt 8 1/3 scoreless innings to keep the score tied. With the automatic runner coming into play during extra innings, the reliance on each reliever to do their job was even greater. Marmol couldn't have envisioned a better performance.

“Everybody did their job," Marmol said. "[Jordan] Hicks did a really nice job. [Giovanny Gallegos] did his job. [JoJo] Romero came in and faced his guys. Helsley was efficient with his efficiency, plus work. And then Pallante, holy cow. To come in with a runner on second and get out of every inning the way he did, I loved it.”

These efforts sent the game to the 13th and set the stage for Albert Pujols, who wasn't going to leave his final trip to Cincinnati as a player without giving one final goodbye.

Hitless through his first five at-bats, Pujols came up with one out and the chance to drive in the go-ahead run. He lofted a deep fly ball to center field, far enough for Paul Goldschmidt to score from third base and give the Cardinals the lead for good. It marked Pujols’ 122nd career sacrifice fly, moving him past Hank Aaron and Frank Thomas for fourth place in MLB history.

It also marked Pujols' 60th career RBI at Great American Ball Park.

“Last at-bat here. He’s done some damage in this ballpark," Marmol said. “To be able to go out with the go-ahead RBI, I enjoyed watching it.”

The win also earned the Cardinals a series victory, and with it some solid momentum as they moved into the final full month of the regular season.

“My hope was sooner than later, but we continue to make plays and give ourselves a shot,” Marmol added. “You’re going to win in a lot of different ways. It’s easy to drop that game, go home, have a day off and kind of reset, but to stay mentally engaged knowing that we’re here to win every single game, regardless of how it looks, we’re going to find a way. That’s what makes games like that special."