Herrera’s Ninth-Inning Blast Lifts St. Louis Past Colorado in Thriller

Ivan Herrera belted a clutch three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a dramatic 7-6 comeback victory over the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Friday night.

The win improved St. Louis to 71-71 and bolstered the Cardinals’ position in the National League wild-card chase. They leapfrogged Miami and now sit within three games of Arizona for the final playoff spot.

Trailing 6-4 heading into the ninth, the Cardinals mounted their rally against reliever Jordan Romano (0-3). Thomas Saggese opened the inning with a walk, and Jose Fermin reached on a throwing error to set the stage for Herrera, who crushed a 1-2 slider 430 feet to center field, delivering the go-ahead runs. Manager Oliver Marmol watched the decisive moment from the clubhouse after being ejected earlier in the game.

Marmol was tossed in the sixth inning by home plate umpire Doug Eddings.

Cade Winquist (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, while Riley O’Brien secured the final three outs for his 36th save of the season.

Colorado (54-87) received offensive contributions from Cole Carrigg, who hit an inside-the-park home run and added a triple, and TJ Rumfield, who also went deep, tripled, and singled. Connor Norby chipped in with a pair of hits for the Rockies.

Cardinals starter Andre Pallante delivered a gritty five-inning performance, surrendering just one run before exiting with a 4-1 lead. The bullpen, however, faltered as reliever Hancel Rincon made his major league debut and was immediately attacked by the Colorado lineup.

With one out in the inning, Rumfield tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Carrigg followed with a drive that bounced off the center-field wall, allowing him to race around the bases for an inside-the-park home run — his seventh of the year.

Norby then singled, prompting the insertion of Justin Bruihl in relief of Rincon. Before Bruihl could throw a pitch, he was called for a pitch clock violation, drawing Marmol out of the dugout for an argument that resulted in his ejection. Johnston followed with a hit, Adael Amador drove in a run with a single, and Johnston later scored on Zac Veen’s sacrifice bunt.

Replays appeared to show Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal tagging out Johnston at the plate, but St. Louis lost its manager’s challenge on the play.

Rumfield extended the Colorado lead with a solo homer in the seventh inning, his 15th of the season.

The Rockies struck first with a sacrifice fly by Hunter Goodman in the opening inning, but the Cardinals responded in the second on Nolan Gorman’s run-scoring single and an RBI double by Saggese.

St. Louis added to its advantage in the fifth inning, getting an RBI single from Alec Burleson and a sacrifice fly from Walker.

Rockies starter Feltner took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits across five innings of work.

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