Wild pitch deals Cards 2nd straight walk-off loss

DETROIT -- For the second consecutive game, the Cardinals were tied in the bottom of the ninth and lost. On Saturday night, a bases-loaded wild pitch from Bud Norris was the culprit in St. Louis' 4-3 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.
With Norris on in the ninth inning of a tie game, Matt Carpenter misplayed a grounder from leadoff batter Victor Reyes at first base. The ball ricocheted into foul territory and allowed Reyes to get to second. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt, Norris intentionally walked Nick Castellanos to get to Victor Martinez with the bases loaded. His first pitch to Martinez, a slider, ate up Carson Kelly behind the plate and went to the backstop, allowing Reyes to score easily.
"It's a tough spot," Norris said. "I've been pitching in that spot all year, and I know what the situation is. … It was just a tough inning. Tough back-to-back days."
The Cardinals came to Detroit looking to gain ground on the division-leading Cubs and the Brewers, who hold the top NL Wild Card spot, but they sit five back of Chicago and slipped to 2 1/2 back of Milwaukee. St. Louis holds a one-game lead over the Dodgers for the second Wild Card.
"I'm frustrated," Norris said. "I'll say that. But I care. I know this team cares."
Down to their last strike in the ninth, St. Louis found life in an increasingly reliable bat. Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run home run to left field off closer Shane Greene (4-6) to tie the game. It was just the fourth hit for the Cardinals, who were stifled by Matthew Boyd's stellar start.

For most of the game, it didn't seem likely there would be a bottom of the ninth to worry about, as the Cardinals struggled up and down the lineup against Boyd, who lasted seven innings and gave up two hits.
"I thought he had good command of his slider and his changeup," Paul DeJong said. "He was hitting corners with his fastball. He didn't hang too many balls over the middle that we were looking for."
Before DeJong's leadoff solo home run in the eighth, Boyd had retired 16 consecutive Cardinals, taking 11 of them to two-strike counts. He became just the fifth lefty to record at least 11 strikeouts against St. Louis in the past decade.

Entering Saturday, the Cardinals' 284 strikeouts against southpaws this season ranked third-lowest in the Majors. But Boyd, who entered Saturday with an average of five strikeouts per outing, got St. Louis for 17 swinging strikes, including seven with a fastball that averaged 93.2 mph.
"This is kind of what a playoff game would look like," Carpenter said, "to get that kind of starting pitching when a guy is on like that."
For his part, Cardinals rookie Jack Flaherty scattered four hits over five innings. He was charged with three runs, two of which came in the first inning on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. The three runs charged to Flaherty marked his most since July 31 against the Rockies.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The third run against Flaherty came with two outs in the fourth inning. Harrison Bader misjudged a high fly ball off the bat of Candelario in shallow center field. Bader made a diving bid at the ball, but managed only to trap it in his glove. Reyes, running on contact, scored from first base. The ball had just a 2 percent hit probability according to Statcast™.

SOUND SMART
DeJong's eighth-inning home run off Boyd was his 10th this season with a two-strike count.
HE SAID IT
"He hit it right to me. It just took a hop, and I wasn't able to catch it. It's a play that we have to have made. It's a play that I need to make. It's unfortunate that it ended up costing us the game." -- Carpenter, on his ninth-inning error
UP NEXT
The Cardinals close out their weekend series against the Tigers with a 12:10 p.m. CT first pitch Sunday. John Gant (6-5, 3.19 ERA) will be on the mound for St. Louis. Gant has drawn attention to himself by hitting two home runs this season, but his 3.06 ERA in August was also good. The Tigers tabbed Michael Fulmer (3-10, 4.57), who is looking for his first win since June 14.