WEST SACRAMENTO -- Iván Herrera was hitless in four at-bats when he stepped to the plate with the game on the line in the ninth inning Thursday, but his Cardinals teammates weren’t worried.
At first base, rookie JJ Wetherholt -- still nursing the sting of a two-out, two-strike hit-by-pitch -- was ready to dash for second. In the on-deck circle, right fielder Jordan Walker prepared himself for his next at-bat.
They were certain Herrera would come through.
“I just don’t think Iván’s going 0-for-5,” Wetherholt said of Herrera. “He’s going to find a hole. It’s going to happen.”
In a dramatic 5-4 comeback win over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, the Cardinals showed why they were right to have faith.
Herrera indeed found a hole -- slapping the first pitch he saw into left field for the tying hit -- and Walker followed with a go-ahead bloop double to right field, lifting St. Louis to a thrilling victory and securing a massive series win to close a seven-game road swing out West.
“It was great because it’s a tough road trip,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “You’re here, you can easily fold, and there was this calmness to everything they did. I’m proud of my group.”
The win included an abrupt reversal of fortune for a Cardinals club that was down but not out, losing a 3-1 lead in the seventh and looking destined for a second straight defeat. Little-used role player Yohel Pozo led off the top of the ninth with his third hit of the day and was replaced by pinch-runner Thomas Saggese, but it looked like the rally would die there after two consecutive outs.
Then, down to their final strike, the Cardinals got a breath of life: A’s closer Jack Perkins plunked Wetherholt on the right knee with a 2-2 sweeper, keeping the inning alive for Herrera.
“I say those are like my favorite pitches: two-strike offspeed that hits me,” Wetherholt said. “Just find a way to get on base.”
“Find a way” is a fitting mantra for a Cardinals club off to a surprising 25-18 start. St. Louis notched its third win of the season when trailing after eight innings on Thursday, tied with the Reds for the second most in MLB behind only the Padres (four).
After the huge hits from Herrera’s and Walker, closer Riley O’Brien recorded his second save of the series, striking out Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker after hitting Nick Kurtz to lead off the bottom of the ninth.
Staring down another disheartening defeat in a series finale -- O’Brien blew a save in Sunday’s walk-off, 10-inning loss in San Diego -- the Cardinals instead find themselves heading back to St. Louis in a virtual tie with the Brewers for second in the National League Central.
“From a momentum standpoint, it’s cool when you don’t feel like you lose momentum even when you’re supposed to,” Marmol said. “I think that’s important for a club like ours to have that when you get that gut punch, it’s like this neutral feeling -- almost like nothing happened.”
In a back-and-forth series finale, that steadiness was key for a Cardinals team that has been competitive in practically every game. St. Louis hasn’t lost by more than four runs in over a month, dating back to April 13, and the club has a 17-11 record in that span.
The Cards didn’t open the scoring until the fifth inning against A’s lefty Jacob Lopez, when light-hitting center fielder Victor Scott II slugged his second home run of the year. Walker added an opposite-field dinger in a two-run sixth, backing right-hander Michael McGreevy’s six innings of one-run ball.
But the A’s struck back. Langeliers bounced the go-ahead two-run single up the middle off lefty reliever JoJo Romero in the seventh, and it looked for a while like St. Louis was headed for a series loss in West Sacramento.
Don’t tell the Cardinals that, though. In the fateful ninth, things just seemed predestined: Perkins’ sweeper catching Wetherholt’s knee; Herrera’s sharp grounder scooting just past the dive of the third baseman; Walker’s looping fly ball landing just inside the right-field line.
There could hardly be any clearer signs that the Cardinals’ faith had once again been rewarded.
“I love what our team does, especially in the late innings,” Walker said. “We’re always fighting.”