Rockies sprint in front on first pitch, power past Cardinals

Rockies Report, Game 117:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: Jake McCarthy went yard on the first pitch at Busch Stadium on Saturday evening, and the Rockies kept attacking with a three-run third inning and a two-run sixth en route to an 8-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals that allowed them to even their series after a frustrating Friday night loss.

LEADOFF 🚀 JAKE pic.twitter.com/OoHRTK8cP5

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 8, 2026

The homer run was just the beginning for McCarthy, who clubbed a two-run homer in the sixth, added a pair of singles — one a bunt single — and then stole two bases. The bunt came in the ninth inning, after which he swiped his second base of the night, advanced to third and then scored on a Kyle Karros sacrifice fly.

“He plays every day the way we want to play baseball as a team,” manager Warren Schaeffer told media after the game.

That extra run proved valuable; it pushed the Colorado lead to 8-5, but the Cardinals scored on a two-out Nathan Church single, allowing them to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of César Prieto. But Jordan Romano struck out Prieto on three pitches, allowing him to rebound from his blown save against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night to record his 10th save of the season — and his sixth since becoming the Rockies’ closer last month.

Parker Mushinski earned his first Rockies and major-league win, allowing a hit and a walk in his 1 1/3 innings of relief work.

In addition to McCarthy’s homers, the other big swing came from center fielder Cole Carrigg, whose one-out, two-on double scored McCarthy and Karros in the third inning, putting the Rox up to stay after the Cardinals had taken a 2-1 lead in the second inning.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

It was too much to expect Kyle Freeland’s encore after the first complete game of his career to match his work last Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, and ultimately, he labored through 101 pitches over 4 1/3 innings. But thanks to McCarthy and Carrigg, he left with a lead and allowed three runs — just one of them earned.

“He battled. I thought he was stubborn. He didn’t give up too much damage,” Schaeffer said.

Two walks and a double precipitated the fifth-inning pitching change, but ultimately just one run scored that inning for St. Louis as Freeland finished his night by allowing a sacrifice fly to Masyn Wynn, and then after walking Bryan Torres, Mejia induced a 4-3 groundout from Church to allow no further damage to Freeland’s ledger.

Freeland’s season-long ERA has dropped from 7.34 to 6.63 in his last two starts.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Romano struck out Preito to preserve the save.

NUMBER TO NOTE: .474 — Batting average for the top four spots in the order on Saturday, punctuated by McCarthy’s 4-for-5 night.

WHAT’S NEXT: Michael Lorenzen gets the nod for the Rockies; Michael McGreevy gets the start for the Cardinals. First pitch from Busch Stadium is set for 12:15 p.m. MDT.

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