Cardinals take series in Denver with 10-8 win over Rockies as Hjerpe debuts

Sunday finale in Denver

The St. Louis Cardinals secured a 10-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday to claim two of three games at Coors Field. Nolan Gorman provided the decisive advantage with a go-ahead, two-run home run off reliever Jimmy Herget during a six-run fifth inning for St. Louis. Iván Herrera contributed three hits and two RBIs, while Alec Burleson added three hits and his team-leading 103rd RBI of the season. Leo Bernal drove in two runs, recording his third multi-RBI game in six career appearances in the majors. Colorado countered behind Mickey Moniak, who hit a home run and drove in four runs, along with Jake McCarthy, who added a homer and three RBIs. George Soriano secured the win by striking out Troy Johnston with a runner on second base in the ninth inning to earn his third save of the year.

Debut performance from Hjerpe

Cooper Hjerpe delivered four perfect innings of relief to earn the win in his MLB debut after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis before the game. The 25-year-old left-hander, who was the 22nd overall pick in the 2022 draft, struck out six batters and did not allow a baserunner. Hjerpe entered the game in the third inning after St. Louis starter Kyle Leahy surrendered five earned runs across 2 2/3 innings. Leahy, a native of Boulder, had yielded two runs or fewer in each of his previous 12 starts before the shortened outing. Herget took the loss for Colorado to fall to 0-6 on the season.

Rockies rally in game two

Colorado evened the series on Saturday night with a 10-7 win built around a six-run fifth inning against St. Louis starter Matthew Liberatore. Cole Carrigg began the rally with a leadoff single after Liberatore had retired the first 10 batters of the game. The fifth-inning surge featured three straight singles, two wild pitches during an at-bat by McCarthy, a double steal by McCarthy and Ezequiel Tovar, and an RBI double from TJ Rumfield. Liberatore received his eighth consecutive loss, dropping to 5-14 and extending his winless streak to nine starts. Brennan Bernardino earned the win for Colorado, and Jordan Romano recorded the final two outs for his 15th save.

Series opener and cap controversy

The weekend series began on Friday with a 7-6 St. Louis victory that included a dispute over the uniform of Cardinals rookie pitcher Hancel Rincon. Home-plate umpire Doug Eddings instructed Rincon in the sixth inning to adjust the tilted bill of his cap, prompting an argument from Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol that led to Marmol's ejection. Following social media discussion suggesting Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman had alerted the umpire, Goodman denied making any complaint about Rincon's cap.

I never once mentioned the hat. It doesn't matter who's pitching. I don't care how they wear the hat. I'm trying to find out where the ball is coming out, and I'm trying to worry about what I'm doing in the box. I'm not worried about how his hat looks.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer stated that Eddings confirmed Goodman had not mentioned the issue. St. Louis has now won five of its last six road series. Up next, the Cardinals start Michael McGreevy against San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb on Monday, while Colorado sends Gabriel Hughes to face New York Yankees starter Cam Schlittler on Tuesday.