CHICAGO 鈥 In his first game back from a sprained finger, Nolan Arenado felt a pinch in his right shoulder that kept him out Saturday鈥檚 game and made the Cardinals uncertain of his availability as the three-city, nine-game trip concludes Sunday evening.
Arenado was a late scratch from the Saturday鈥檚 lineup due to a impingement in his right shoulder. He first felt the pain during Friday鈥檚 game, but the team and third baseman wanted to see how it recovered between games.
Arenado tested it out on the field and in the cage before determining the resistance and discomfort in the shoulder. He was removed from the lineup shortly before game time.
The Cardinals鈥 initially described him as day to day with the injury, and manager Oliver Marmol said after the 8-6 victory that Arenado would have to be reevaluated Sunday for the team to have a clearer sense of his return. The Cardinals have seven games remaining before the All-Star break.
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鈥淚t didn鈥檛 feel right to go,鈥 Marmol said of Saturday鈥檚 choice.
In Arenado鈥檚 place, Thomas Saggese played third base and batted fifth. In his first at-bat, Saggese had a two-RBI single, and his bloop single in the eighth was part of the Cardinals鈥 decisive five-run comeback.
Arenado missed the final two games of the Cardinals鈥 series in Pittsburgh due to a finger he sprained at the start of the road trip in Cleveland. He lined a ball out to second base in Friday night鈥檚 loss to the Cubs and finished 0 for 3. Before injuring his finger, Arenado had been 5 for 12 with two RBIs and two doubles in the Cardinals鈥 trip-opening sweep of the Guardians.
Pages was perplexed, too
One of the pitches that prompted a gambling investigation from Major League Baseball on Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz also confused the batter, Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages.
Pages was at the plate for one of the two pitches flagged for sportsbooks by a betting-integrity watchdog for suspicious wagering. Major League Baseball began its investigation this past week and placed Ortiz on paid leave. There are sportsbooks that take best on first pitches.
The pitch 鈥 the first pitch of the Cardinals鈥 top of the third inning June 27 at Progressive Field 鈥 went way wide.
So wide that Pages looked to the scoreboard for what kind of pitch it was.
鈥淚 was just confused,鈥 Pages said. 鈥淥bviously, he spiked it. It wasn鈥檛 competitive. So I was confused. Once I saw what the pitch was, I figured he yanked a slider and I didn鈥檛 think anything of it.鈥
It did put Ortiz in a bind that Pages鈥 capitalized on. The right-hander fell behind with another ball that followed the slider. Pages then jumped Ortiz鈥檚 2-0, 95.8-mph sinker for a solo home run.
Backing his boyhood pal
For the third consecutive start by his longtime friend, fellow Phoenix kid, and boyhood teammate Matthew Liberatore, Nolan Gorman backed the left-handed pitcher with a home run.
Gorman homered against the Cubs in Liberatore鈥檚 game against them on June 23, and he also had a homer this past week during Liberatore鈥檚 start in Cleveland. In fourth inning Saturday, with the Cardinals clinging to a 2-1 lead, Gorman drilled an breaking ball from reliever Chris Flexen for a solo homer into the Wrigley Field bleachers. The ball carried an estimated 420 feet to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
The homer was Gorman鈥檚 eighth of the season and seventh in the past month.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely trending that way,鈥 Liberatore said of the convergence of his starts and Gorman鈥檚 homers. 鈥淚 think this is the best he鈥檚 looked in quite a while, and I couldn鈥檛 be more happy for him. It鈥檚 super-nice to have him in the lineup doing what he鈥檚 doing.鈥
Pallante debuts new pitch
It was a pitch that skipped to the backstop and would normally be a forgettable one in the fourth inning of a seven-inning, one-hit start by Andre Pallante.
Except, it was also a first for Pallante.
This past Tuesday at PNC Park, with an advantage count, Pallante attempted a sweeping slider Tuesday night. He threw to a Pirate he identified before the game as possibly someone to try the pitch against, if the situation came up. It鈥檚 a breaking pitch he鈥檚 been working to give him a 鈥渃hase鈥 pitch 鈥 something that might invite more swings and misses and ultimately more strikeouts. He鈥檚 thrown six or sven of them in every bullpen session with fellow starters Sonny Gray and Erick Fedde looking on and providing tips from their sweepers. After a month of work in the lab he wanted to take it for a test drive in a game. But just once.
鈥淔irst step, throw one in the game and see how it works,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淭hen, throw a couple of more in a game and really now dedicate my bullpen work to get to a point where I can have confidence in it.鈥
Pallante struck out three in his seven scoreless innings of Tuesday鈥檚 1-0 loss. Pallante used it on a 1-2 count against Nick Gonzales with two outs and the bases empty in the fourth inning. He just yanked it so it could be ignored as a breaking at 83 mph and well wide of the strike zone.
He then came back to get a groundout, one of 13 he collected in the game.
鈥淒efinitely the most unpredictable I鈥檝e been in my career,鈥 Pallante said of the outing. 鈥淚 still think there鈥檚 room for me to grow.鈥
In today鈥檚 10 AM 鈥淭en Hochman鈥 video, Ben Hochman discusses Clayton Kershaw, who joined Bob Gibson in a rare club with his 3,000th K! Plus, a happy birthday shoutout to Derrick Chievous! And as always, Hochman picks a random Cards card out of the hat!
Photos: Cardinals rally to take second game of series at Cubs

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Willson Contreras (40) and Brendon Donovan (33) celebrate with teammates in the dugout after both scoring on a Thomas Saggese 2-RBI single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

The Cardinals' Willson Contreras, front, and Brendon Donovan celebrate with teammates in the dugout after both scored on a Thomas Saggese 2-RBI single during the first inning against the Cubs on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

The Cardinals鈥 Thomas Saggese watches his 2-RBI single during the first inning against the Cubs on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs starter Drew Pomeranz delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the 最新杏吧原创 Cardinals Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch celebrates at home plate after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the 最新杏吧原创 Cardinals, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo (63) celebrates with teammate Nolan Gorman (16) after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo (63) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo (63) celebrates with teammate Lars Nootbaar, left, after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

The Cardinals鈥 Yohel Pozo celebrates his three-run home run during the eighth inning against the Cubs on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong reacts after striking out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the 最新杏吧原创 Cardinals, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo watches his three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Brad Keller reacts after giving up a three-run home run to 最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley celebrates after defeating the Chicago Cubs in a baseball game Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo (63) celebrates with teammates at the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.

最新杏吧原创 Cardinals' Yohel Pozo (63) celebrates with teammates at the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Chicago.