After trailing for most of Thursday night against the Minnesota Twins, the St. Louis Cardinals refused to go quietly, as they came to within 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
However, with the tying run at the plate and two outs, manager Oli Marmol opted to stick with Taylor Motter despite having Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Tyler O’Neill on the bench.
Motter was completely overmatched by Twins closer Jhoan Duran, who recorded a game-winning strikeout which clinched the series for Minnesota.
This decision by Marmol left Cardinals fans perplexed.
On Twitter, one fan called out Marmol for sticking with Motter in a key situation as opposed to going with Arenado, O’Neill, or Contreras.
So Jordan Walker can’t play the field for two innings because winning is important but Taylor Motter can hit for himself as the game tying run in the ninth? With Contreras, Arenado, O’Neill and Gorman on the bench? #STLCards
— PunchCards (@punch_cards) August 4, 2023
While choosing to go with one of the three aforementioned sluggers may not have made any difference, it might have made more sense for Marmol to make the move.
The fan also pointed out a little hypocrisy as well.
Late in games, the Cardinals have been taking Jordan Walker out and putting in Dylan Carlson to bolster their outfield defense.
But in a key moment, Marmol had a crucial lapse in judgement by allowing Motter to hit.
Motter came into the at-bat against Duran with a .187 average on the season.
He was retired quickly.
The loss dropped the Cardinals to 48-62 on the season.
While any hope of reaching the postseason has already been squashed, St. Louis does have a chance to play the role of spoiler down the stretch as they look forward to the 2024 season.
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