LOS ANGELES -- In a sport with no shortage of obscure stats and “firsts,” the Cardinals’ 13-8 win over the Dodgers Tuesday night certainly did not disappoint.
St. Louis slugged 13 hits, including five home runs, while scoring in six different innings to take the series opener over L.A.
“It was just a looseness to the group that you want to continue to build off of,” said manager Oli Marmol. “We talked about Philly and Chicago and a place like this, you just want to continue to breed a group that’s just fearless in how they approach those type of games. So I like the looseness of our group from pitch one.”
Here are four numbers that defined the Cardinals’ win:
107.6: Prospect Leo Bernal scorches 1st career hit
Bernal, the Cardinals’ No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was called up for his MLB debut on Tuesday, and he didn’t take long to get in on the fun. The 22-year-old smacked a two-run single with the bases loaded in the third for his first career hit. The ball left his bat at 107.6 mph.
“Unbelievable. Always like I was dreaming about,” Bernal said afterward through an interpreter. “Being in this clubhouse with these people, against the team that we faced, everything was so special and obviously the hard work paid off today. It was a special day.”
55: Jordan Walker's 55th career home run -- off his 55th different pitcher
Walker continued his breakout season with his 28th home run in the fourth, a Statcast-projected 409-foot blast that left his bat at 109.3 mph. It was Walker’s 55th career round-tripper and it came off his 55th different pitcher.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the second-longest streak of home runs off different pitchers to start a career since at least 1900, behind only Willy Adames (57).
15: Thomas Saggese becomes 15th Cardinal with a multihomer game at Dodger Stadium
If you needed more proof Tuesday’s game was special, Saggese -- a Carlsbad, Calif., native -- entered the day with four career home runs in 134 games. He left with six in 135.
And he did it with his dad in the stands.
“It means a lot, especially to do it in a big marketplace, in L.A.,” Saggese said. “And then with L.A. being close to where I’m from. To do it in front of my dad in person. My dad doesn’t get to go to a lot of games, so to do it in front of him, even to hit one, I was like, ‘Man, that’s really cool.’ Really a blessing. And then to hit two, obviously so cool. It’s such a cool thing.”
Saggese is the first Cardinal to accomplish the feat since none other than likely future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who hit his 699th and 700th career home runs at the same ballpark on Sept. 23, 2022.
“I mean, that’s insane,” Saggese said. “Obviously his legacy, and what it means to be a Cardinal changed because of what he did. Just as a Cardinal, but then as a player in general, he’s one of the greatest to ever do it. I don’t know if I deserve that, but that’s pretty cool.”
13: Cardinals score franchise-record 13 runs at Dodger Stadium
Tuesday was the Cardinals’ 337th game at Dodger Stadium, including the postseason. It was the first time they scored 13-plus runs at the venue.
The last time St. Louis scored 13+ runs on the road against the Dodgers was in a 1954 contest at Ebbets Field, and its record is 15 runs on May 30, 1960, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“It’s fun. It’s hard to do against those guys,” Marmol said. “They’re very good, they pitch it well. You look at their 'pen and it’s strong. So to be able to put 13 on the board the way we did it, because it was a lot of different ways, was the best part about it.”