By MATT PIKE
Jordan Walker hit his major league leading eighth home run of the season, staying hot at the plate for the St. Louis Cardinals, but the Cleveland Guardians also got home runs from Angel Martínez and Brayan Rocchio to beat the Cardinals 9-3 at Busch Stadium.
Martínez gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the first inning, sending Matthew Liberatore's curveball 398 feet over the left-field wall. Alec Burleson’s RBI single drew the Cardinals even in the bottom of the first, capping a string of three straight two-strike singles off Guardians starter Gavin Williams.
Daniel Schneemann’s two-run single sparked a Guardians rally in the fourth, driving in both Rhys Hoskins and Jose Ramirez who opened the inning with walks. Austin Hedges followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring David Fry to give Cleveland a 4-1 lead. Rocchio extended the lead in the sixth inning with a two-run home run off Justin Bruihl.
Leading off the bottom of the sixth, Walker’s home run ended Williams’ night. Walker became the fifth player in Cardinals history to hit at least eight homers in the first 16 games of a season, joining Stan Musial (1954), Mark McGwire (1998), Scott Rolen (2004) and Albert Pujols (2006).
Steven Kwan capped a three-run outburst in the eighth with a two-run single, scoring Juan Brito and Rocchio. Rocchio started the scoring with a two out single, bringing home Fry. Five of the nine Guardians batters reached safely at least twice. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals scored their final run, Pedro Pagés hitting a sacrifice fly to drive in Walker making the score 9-3.
Matthew Liberatore took the loss, falling to 0-1, needing a season-high 105 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed four runs on six hits, walked three and struck out two. At the plate, Walker was 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI. Burleson was also 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
St. Louis and Cleveland continue their series on Tuesday. Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.16 ERA, 10K's) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 20K's) for the Guardians. First pitch is at 6:45pm, pregame will begin near the start at 6:35 on KY 102 (102.5FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.