WEST SACRAMENTO -- Making his first start in nine days, Cardinals outfielder José Fermin had a clear plan for his first at-bat against Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs on Tuesday: He was looking for a fastball to pull to left field.
After taking a high slider from the southpaw for ball one, Fermín got the fastball he was looking for, a four-seamer on the outer edge. But instead of driving the pitch to left, he lined it to right-center, finding a perfect gap in the A’s defense and bringing home two runs.
“I think I got a little lucky there,” Fermín said, “but it was a hit, so that’s all that matters.”
His double was the key hit in a four-run first inning for St. Louis in Tuesday’s 6-4 win, a crucial frame that was not without a little good fortune -- as well as some impressive situational hitting.
Only one batted ball in the inning -- Iván Herrera’s 96.6 mph single through the right side to put runners on the corners with nobody out -- registered as hard hit. But the Cardinals didn’t need any more loud contact to make a major impact.
Jordan Walker poked a down-and-away changeup from Springs into left-center, plating JJ Wetherholt -- who drew a leadoff walk -- for the game’s first run as he continued a red-hot May. After Alec Burleson struck out and Masyn Winn popped out on the infield, a pair of role players delivered some two-out magic.
Fermín and Pozo -- both in the lineup with the lefty Springs on the mound -- each came through with run-scoring hits to give the Cardinals their highest-scoring opening frame since a nine-run outburst on July 13, 2024, against the Cubs at Busch Stadium. After Fermín plated Herrera from second base and Walker from first with his double, Pozo reached for a changeup way outside 1.72 feet from the center of the plate -- and hit it off Springs’ glove and into center field.
“I was like, ‘Bro, how did you hit that pitch?’” Fermín said.
Perhaps Pozo wasn’t going to miss any opportunity to do damage. The second-year Cardinal had played just once since April 26 and had all of three at-bats in the previous four weeks, but he made his mark when called upon to make it 4-0.
“It was good to start the game that way,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “It was good to see a couple guys against a lefty who were in the lineup today in Fermín and Pozo driving them in to give us an early lead. I love the fact that we came out of the gate strong.”
In recent days, that wasn’t the case. Before Tuesday’s outburst, the Cardinals went eight games without scoring a first-inning run, dating back to May 1, when they put up three and never looked back in a 7-2 win over the Dodgers.
Tuesday’s series opener in West Sacramento followed a somewhat similar script, although things got a little too close for comfort when the A’s scrapped out three runs with two outs in the second inning.
It remained a 4-3 game until Wetherholt added some important insurance in the sixth, rocketing a two-run dinger to right field and celebrating -- via barking like a dog -- with his teammates in the visitors’ dugout.
“We’re always looking for someone to hit a homer so we can bark,” Fermín said. “That was fun. Got the vibes up again.”
Even after two consecutive losses on Saturday and Sunday in San Diego -- including a ninth-inning blown lead in the series finale -- the Cardinals’ vibes are indeed on the rise.
St. Louis has held its own amid a tough May that began with three straight series against 2025 National League playoff teams -- the Dodgers, Brewers and Padres -- before the club’s first-ever trip to Sutter Health Park. With Tuesday’s win, the Cardinals are 6-4 in May. Their 14-7 road record overall is the second best in the Majors, behind the Braves (16-7).
“The guys are really prepared,” Marmol said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re home or away. They’re focused on how to take care of business and what’s in front of them that day.”
That was evident from the start of Tuesday’s game as the Cardinals -- with, sure, a little bit of luck on their side -- made a massive early statement.
“It’s kind of what you hope for and how you set it up, and then it played out really well,” Marmol said.