Relentless Cards outlast Yamamoto, claim extra-innings win to get back to .500

LOS ANGELES -- It was a tale of two games for the Cardinals -- in more ways than one.

After Tuesday’s 13-hit, 13-run barrage in the series opener, St. Louis was no-hit through five innings on Wednesday by Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, showing few signs of life at the plate after a historic offensive night one day prior.

But as the game entered the sixth, something shifted for the Cardinals, who would go on to score in the sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th innings in an 8-6 comeback win that brought the club back to .500 on the season. With San Diego’s loss, the Cardinals inched closer to the third NL Wild Card spot, now sitting 3 1/2 games back of Arizona.

“You give up the three early, it’s easy to go, ‘OK, here we go,’” said manager Oli Marmol. “And the group just continues to not give in at any moment. There’s still conversation about how to attack [Yamamoto] even though there wasn’t a whole lot of production against him. But then we were able to get him a couple times.”

José Fermín led off the sixth with a single to right field to break up the no-hitter, and two batters later, Thomas Saggese sent a first-pitch Yamamoto sinker into the center-field seats for a two-run home run.

It was Saggese’s third blast in a span of five at-bats after his two-homer game on Tuesday. He became the first Cardinal since Albert Pujols in 2011 with three homers in a two-game span at Dodger Stadium.​ He’s 7-for-12 (.583) with six RBIs since rejoining the Cardinals last week.

“It’s amazing,” Saggese said of his recent success. “It’s obviously such a huge blessing, and cool to see. I’ve put in a lot of work and to enjoy some of the fruits of the labor, I’m really grateful.”

With Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt both sidelined, Saggese’s surge has been crucial for St. Louis.

“Saggy’s swinging it well,” said Marmol. “He’s in a good spot right now, and it’s one of those where you want to continue to find ways to get him at-bats, because he looks like he’s starting to settle in and drop his shoulders a little bit. But to do what he did tonight against that guy across the way is pretty solid.”

After Saggese put the Cardinals on the board in the sixth, Jordan Walker opened the seventh by scorching a leadoff double 106.8 mph off the bat before Leo Bernal hit his first career home run to cut the Dodgers’ lead to one run. Bernal narrowly missed another round-tripper in the ninth.

Joshua Báez led off the eighth with a pinch-hit double off Tanner Scott and scored the tying run on Alec Burleson’s sac fly. And in the 10th, Nathan Church’s leadoff single put runners at the corners (due to the extra-innings automatic-runner rule) for Saggese, who legged out an RBI infield single to give the Cardinals their first lead of the night. Báez brought them home with a two-run double on the next pitch to put the game away.

Marmol credited his lineup -- which is one of the youngest in the sport -- with never counting themselves out of a game, especially in an atmosphere like Dodger Stadium.

“It’s not only being fearless, but just a looseness to playing in pretty tough environments,” Marmol said. “… To go out like yesterday and put that type of game together was good. And then to be down three today and there be not an ounce of panic, that’s what you’re trying to value with your group and double down on.”

The Cardinals’ bullpen also came up clutch on Wednesday, holding the Dodgers to a 1-for-18 clip with runners in scoring position. Gordon Graceffo pitched three scoreless innings of bulk relief, striking out a career-high six batters.

Saggese, a Southern California native whose latest outburst has come with his dad in the stands, said the team’s never-quit mentality has become core to its identity.

“I think it’s really special, especially on the road. I think it just goes to show a lot about our group,” he said. “Even when I wasn’t here, they’ve shown that a lot, just the relentlessness of our lineup and our entire group of guys. We’re never out of it, and you feel it, too. It’s really cool. That’s a fun place to be, where you’re always fighting and always competing, and you really are never out of it, like we showed tonight.”