PHOENIX, May 27 \u2014 They blew a 4\u20130 lead in the seventh and eighth innings. Their pitcher even carried a no-hitter into the seventh. They let the host Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> have the tying or go-ahead run on third twice. But it ended all the same, as the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5\u20134, in 10 innings Thursday night.<\/p>\n Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez baffled the Diamondbacks bats for the first six innings, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh. His team gave him an early 3\u20130 lead thanks to a three-run second off Diamondbacks starter Jon Duplantier. Veteran catcher Yadier Molina led off with a single and scored when left fielder Tyler O\u2019Neill followed with a mammoth two-run homer off the scoreboard. The prodigious blast stirred up the large contingent of Cardinal fans in the crowd. Their excitement grew when a bases-loaded walk plated Martinez, who had singled to reach base.<\/p>\n In the fifth, a leadoff double by former Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt turned into a run when third baseman Nolan Arenado followed with a double of his own. With the score 4\u20130, Duplantier struggled to finish off the inning. With two outs, he hit Edmundo Sosa to load the bases. That ended his night, as manager Torey Lovullo replaced him with Caleb Smith. Smith struck out Justin Williams to keep the score at 4\u20130, then pitched two more innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. Catcher Stephen Vogt praised Smith\u2019s effort. \u201cHe stomped that game and gave us an opportunity to climb back in.\u201d Lovullo added, \u201cCaleb was fantastic, keeping everything in check. (He gave) us an opportunity to play catch-up.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks broke up the no-hit bid in the seventh on a leadoff single by Josh Rojas. After Eduardo Escobar singled to put runners on first and second, David Peralta ripped a double to left. Rojas scored easily, and Escobar turned on the jets, intent on scoring from first. However, he had to go back to third \u2014 a fan reached over the left-field fence and deflected the ball with his glove.<\/p>\n Pavin Smith rendered that action moot when he welcomed reliever Genesis Cabrera with a double of his own, scoring both runners and cutting the deficit to 4\u20133. \u201cI feel like I stole David\u2019s RBI. But for that not to hurt us was good for morale,\u201d Smith said after the game. Right fielder Josh Reddick followed with a single to right, but he hit it too hard for Smith to score from second. A walk by Nick Ahmed loaded the bases for Carson Kelly, who pinch-hit for Vogt. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt countered with Ryan Helsley, who struck him out on three pitches. Pinch-hitter Andrew Young did the same before Rojas hit an inning-ending grounder to second.<\/p>\n Ketel Marte led off the bottom of the eighth with an infield single. He scored when Smith ripped another double, this time with two outs. Josh Reddick could not bring him home, however, ending the eighth with the game still tied.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks got the winning run to second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Domingo Leyba drew a walk, and pinch-runner Tim Locastro stole second. However, Rojas grounded to second, sending the game to extra innings.<\/p>\n Paul Goldschmidt started the top of the 10th on second base. He scored on a one-out double by Molina, giving the Cardinals their fifth and decisive run. In the bottom of the inning, Rojas started on second. He never moved, as Daniel Ponce de Leon pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the save.<\/p>\n This was yet another close and frustrating loss for the sputtering Diamondbacks, who held a 15\u201313 record on May 3 but have gone 3\u201319 since. \u201cIt\u2019s been tough mentally, physically, emotionally \u2014 you name it,\u201d Vogt said. \u201cWe\u2019re grinding right now. We\u2019ve been in almost every game \u2014 been right in it and just haven\u2019t been able to come through or hold them off the board.\u201d Smith added, \u201cIt\u2019s obviously frustrating. We\u2019re in a lot of these games, and if one bounce goes our way, it\u2019s a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not like the team has given up the ghost only two months into the season. \u201cYou try to look at what we did wrong the day before, or what I as an individual did. If each person does that, and tries to get better themselves, it helps the team,\u201d said Smith. Vogt acknowledged that injuries have played a large role, but he won\u2019t completely attribute the skid to that. \u201cWe know who we\u2019re missing, and to say that hasn\u2019t played a part in it would be wrong. But we have a good team here, and we\u2019re good enough to step up and overcome this. We just haven\u2019t been able to up to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cThe mood is great. Guys are showing up. We expect to win every single day. But this is some kind of stretch we\u2019ve been on. All of us are looking internally to see how we can get better each day and do our part to help contribute to a win.\u201d Vogt let out an exasperated sigh as he said, \u201cWe\u2019re working hard, and it\u2019s really frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n The seventh, eighth, and ninth all saw the Diamondbacks in great position to take the lead but ended in disappointment. Wednesday night, a similar situation happened against the San Francisco Giants. The team blew a 4\u20130 lead, but had both the tying and winning runs in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Vogt said, \u201cWe\u2019ve had moment [sic] or moments through this entire stretch where we think this is it. This is where we\u2019re breaking out \u2014 this is where it\u2019s going to happen. And then one thing leads to another.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cWhen we load the bases two nights in a row, you feel like we\u2019re going to come through. This is it. We\u2019re going to come through\u2026. It\u2019s frustrating. Every single one of us believes in each other to get the job done, and, unfortunately, we haven\u2019t come through in those big moments as of late.\u201d<\/p>\n Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Smith, who helmed the University of North Carolina Tar Heels from 1961-1997, said he learned more from losses than he did from wins. The same is true for Lovullo. \u201cThere are times to change the DNA of the game and reshuffle the deck completely. And then there are other times where I can\u2019t overmanage or overthink a situation. Sometimes it\u2019s so plain that it\u2019s right in front of my face. And I have to just rely on my baseball instincts for what is actually taking place rather than trying to overcoach or do too much.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cOur natural instinct is, in this case, that I want to fix everything and fix it right now. I want to take control of it and make something positive happen out of that. But sometimes the athletes don\u2019t respond to that. They respond to trust \u2014 in being given trust in those trustworthy situations. To continue to coach is always going to be my default, but it\u2019s a tough balance that I\u2019m walking through right now. I want to never have a bad day in front of this team. That\u2019s the main thing for me. I need to show them that I\u2019m engaged here and believing in them and making good baseball decisions based on the outcomes of each situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Some might hear \u201cthe mood is great\u201d and think that the players are not taking the losing streak seriously. That is not the case at all. Vogt explained, \u201cEverybody is expecting<\/em> to go out and win. (We\u2019re all) frustrated. Everybody is working. We expect ourselves to win. That\u2019s what I mean by the mood is good. When we show up, we are excited to play and to win. We think we\u2019re going to win \u2014 we believe<\/em> we\u2019re going to win, because we\u2019re a good team, and we\u2019re good enough to win every single day. But we just haven\u2019t in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cObviously, people are frustrated. (And) obviously, we\u2019re (ticked). Obviously, we don\u2019t like the way results have been going the last couple of weeks. But to say that the mood in the clubhouse is great \u2014 it is. We show up every day expecting to win, and everybody shows up with a great attitude. We\u2019re working our backsides off, but we\u2019re just coming out on the short end.\u201d<\/p>\n This is also, obviously, weighing on Lovullo. \u201cI wear it 26 different ways,\u201d he said after the game. \u201cThe players, I know, are extremely frustrated, too. And, really, it\u2019s about them. But my responsibility is no matter what the circumstances are today, I have to walk in here tomorrow with a plan, a thought, and an idea to keep this ship on course. So that\u2019s my focus when I wake up in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a struggle. I\u2019m not going to lie. But it\u2019s been a struggle for all of us. We can\u2019t make an excuse \u2014 can\u2019t play the \u201cwhat if\u201d game. We\u2019ve got to take everything that\u2019s been dealt to us, make the adjustments, and get after it. Those are my demands. I still feel like these guys are <\/em>getting after it, so we\u2019ll see how tomorrow turns out.\u201d<\/p>\n Main Photo:Cardinals Pounce on Diamondbacks Early<\/h3>\n
A Furious Comeback<\/h3>\n
Cardinals Hold Diamondbacks Off<\/h3>\n
Cardinals Give Diamondbacks Even More Frustration<\/h3>\n
Teasing<\/h3>\n
Learning from the Losses<\/h3>\n
Frustrated, but Not Giving Up<\/h3>\n
Wearing on Everyone<\/h3>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>