The New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, marking the franchise’s first regular-season sweep in St. Louis. Sunday’s 8-4 win was decided by key moments late in the game, including a two-run chopper from Cody Bellinger that was misplayed by Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese in the ninth inning.
The Yankees started strong with a three-run rally in the fourth inning against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, their first sweep since early July and their first over St. Louis since April 2017 at Yankee Stadium.
“I thought the at-bats were, again, really good today,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just the value of putting the ball in play there at the end, taking advantage of the mistake. Good way to finish up into an off-day.”
Paul Goldschmidt made his return to St. Louis after six seasons as a Cardinal and contributed three hits for New York, including a double in the fourth inning that sparked four consecutive hits and another RBI double in the ninth.
“I really wasn’t worried about the knee,” said Goldschmidt, who missed two games due to a sprained right knee. “There’s this weird, like subconscious, when you’ve kind of hurt something or your body maybe wants to test it out a little bit. But I’d hit fine [in the cage], I’d done defense. But yeah, to get out there and play nine, it was good.”
“He got banged up a little bit, so I was happy to see him healthy and back on the field,” Mikolas said. “I know better than to throw him that pitch because he scoops that down-and-in pitch. I let that one kind of get away from me, but it’s good to see him in there.”
“That’s classic Goldy right there,” Boone added. “He flashed it today.”
Will Warren pitched 4 2/3 innings for New York under high temperatures, allowing three runs (one earned) with three strikeouts on 95 pitches. His line improved after an error was charged instead of a base hit on a play in the fourth inning.
“They were applying some pressure, but we were able to lean heavily on our strengths and make some good pitches to get out of it,” Warren assessed.
Catching coach Tanner Swanson was ejected during the fourth inning following an argument from New York’s dugout after Trent Grisham struck out.
Other than Warren’s lengthy fourth inning and Yohel Pozo’s solo home run off Camilo Doval in the sixth for St. Louis, New York maintained control throughout Sunday’s game. The Yankees now head into an off-day before facing Tampa Bay for a two-game series at their Spring Training home for the first time since April 2021.
The team has now won two consecutive series for the first time since late May.
“This is a good week for us to win five out of six games, but there’s a lot of tough, tough opponents coming up,” Goldschmidt said. “We try to play well and keep going, and we definitely have a chance.”
“I think we know we’re a good team,” Boone said. “We believe that, even through some of the down times and some dark moments of the season. I don’t think we’ve ever lost that confidence. Look, we’re capable of this. We’ve got to go prove it, though.”
