Scottsdale's Peter Bourjos is one of the fastest players in the majors, and St. Louis benefitted from his speed in an unusual way on Wednesday to complete a sweep of the D-backs.
Bourjos, running from third base with the bases loaded and one out, got to home plate quickly enough on a ground ball to third to disrupt catcher Jordan Pacheco's throw to first base on what would have been an inning-ending double play. Knocked off balance, Pacheco's throw went over Mark Trumbo's head to give the Cardinals a 4-3 victory at Busch Stadium after Jason Heyward tied the game with a leadoff home run in the ninth against Brad Ziegler.
Third baseman Yasmany Tomas' throw to force out Bourjos got to Pacheco in plenty of time, but Bourjos slid into Pacheco's right leg, knocking Pacheco to the ground as he made the throw. D-backs manager Chip Hale appealed to home plate umpire Eric Cooper that Bourjos was too far out of the baseline, but the slide was ruled legal. Pacheco took over from starting catcher Tuffy Gosewisch after he was injured in the sixth inning.
"Just hoping the guy was too far inside (the base line)," Hale told FOX Sports Arizona's Todd Walsh, "but he wasn't. It was a legal slide. The runner did a nice job of getting in there, breaking it up and winning the game for them."
Trumbo hit his second homer in three games, both to straightaway center field, and David Peralta drove in a run with a pinch-single in the sixth inning, two batters after Gosewish's injury. A second run scoring on the plate when right fielder Heyward misplayed the ball, giving the D-backs a 3-2 lead.
Heyward hit a 1-1 changeup to tie the game and Borjous singled on a 1-0 pitch. He went to second on a groundout before walks to Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday loaded the bases for Jhonny Peralta. The D-backs walked left-hander hitter Carpenter intentionally.
"Not anywhere close to where I wanted to throw it," Ziegler told Walsh, regarding the pitch to Heyward. "Give him credit. He jumped all over it. I think the home run rattled my a little bit. The pitch to Bourjos wasn't good, but I think I made good pitches after that. I didn't have a problem with the matchup with Peralta. I felt like I made a good pitch. It just didn't work out.
"Give credit to Bourjos. That's one of the things that speed gets you sometimes is when you have a force out, you can get to the bag quick and disrupt the double play."
Bourjos has 54 stolen bases in 511 major league games.
Gosewisch suffered a jammed left knee after landing awkwardly while trying to beat a play at first base in the fifth inning, the D-backs said. Gosewisch is to undergo an MRI on Thursday, D-backs manager Chip Hale said, and it appears likely that the D-backs will need to make a roster move to add another catcher, with Jordan Pacheco the only catcher on the roster now.
Catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Peter O'Brien have been dividing the time behind the plate at Triple-A Reno since Saltalamacchia joined the Aces almost two weeks ago, and if the D-backs are forced to make a move, Saltalamacchia seems the most likely candidate since he has caught in the major leagues before. O'Brien, who had some throwing issues in spring training, has caught nine games at Reno while spending most of his time in the outfield.
Gosewisch suffered his injury when he took a big step toward first base when second baseman Kolten Wong's throw was wide to the catcher's side of first base. Mark Reynolds fielded the throw and made a swipe tag on Gosewisch, whose left foot appeared to hit the corner of the bag.
"I was just trying to avoid the tag," Gosewisch told Walsh. "I saw the throw was off a little bit and came down and landed on my leg kind of funny. Jammed up in there. Felt like it twisted a little bit. Right when it happened, it was pretty painful. Once I got back inside and the doctor looked at it, he seemed to think it was nothing major."
Gosewisch, hitting .211 with one homer and 13 RBI, brings added value with his defense and handling of the staff. He has thrown out 11 of 30 runners attempting to steal, 36.7 percent fourth in the NL.
"There's not much I can do about it now," Gosewisch said. "Try to healthy as soon as I can. I might wake up tomorrow and feel OK. We'll find out.
If Gosewisch is out for any serious length of time, the D-backs will be down to their fourth catcher of the season, already having lost Gerald Laird to back surgery a week into the season.
Josh Collmenter's fastball velocity was up a couple of ticks to 87 mph an hour after working with pitching coach Mike Harkey on a slight adjustment to his delivery. Collmenter was in line for the victory after giving up two runs in five innings
3-for-25 -- the D-backs' success with runners in scoring position in the three-game series. They were 1-for-6 Wednesday.
* Jake Lamb singled and walked in four plate appearances and played third base for the first time in an extended spring training game Wednesday. He did not get any chances in the field but tested his left foot (stress reaction) on the bases, planting and driving toward second after his single to right field and turning the second while trying to go from first to third on a single. "I felt good in my ABs. I felt good running the bases," Lamb said. ""I don't usually go first to third on that last play, but I told the coaches I just wanted to test it and see how it felt. It felt great. The foot is feeling good. The body is feeling good. Happy with the day." If there are no setbacks, Lamb is expected to go out on a rehab assignment this weekend. He said he hoped to return to the D-backs for the Jan. 8-10 series agains the Dodgers in Los Angeles. "I'm not trying to push them. They're the boss," Lamb said. "I'd like to be back for the L.A. series, but if not, I would rather be healthy for the rest of the year than play that series and somehow get hurt and come back on the DL."
* David Hernandez struck out two in a scoreless inning for Double-A Mobile on Wednesday, his fourth consecutive scoreless rehab appearance. The D-backs had said they would evaluate Hernandez after his Monday outing, but that was rained out. He appears he is close to returning to the bullpen.
*Matt Stites left for High-A Visalia on Wednesday after pitching scoreless inning in an extended spring training game Monday. He is scheduled to pitch for Visalia on Friday.
* Tomas has 30 hits in May after extending his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the first inning
Tony La Russa is hardly forgotten in St. Louis, where he led the Cardinals to two-100 seven 90-win seasons, three NL pennants and two World Series titles. Not only is La Russa's picture on the Cardinals' Wall of Fame at Busch Stadium, but also he had a Little League field dedicated in his honor in St. Louis on Wednesday. He was named a Missouri Sports Legend by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame earlier Wednesday.
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