Cardinals left all wet in extra-inning loss to White Sox after more than a 3-hour delay

ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals stranded the bases loaded in the 10th inning after rain paused the game for 3 hours and 3 minutes in the middle of what ended up being the final at-bat of the game.

Heavy rain accompanied by lightning forced the game to stop with two outs, men on every base and Nolan Gorman at the plate against former Cardinals pitcher and current Chicago White Sox reliever John Brebbia.

When play resumed, Ivan Herrera pinch hit for Gorman and struck out looking against the White Sox new relief pitcher, left-hander Tanner Banks, and the Cardinals fell, 6-5, in front of what remained of an announced crowd of 38,559 at Busch Stadium for the second game of a three-game series on Saturday evening.

Former Cardinal Tommy Pham lined an RBI single into left field to drive in the automatic runner placed on second base to start extra innings, and that run provided the margin of victory for the White Sox. Cardinals rookie relief pitcher Ryan Fernandez allowed Pham’s RBI single and took the loss.

The Cardinals (15-18) will try to secure their second straight series win at home with a victory on Sunday. Their last home series came against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 22-24, and they won two of three games in that series.

The White Sox (7-26) recorded just their second road win of the season. They’re 2-14 away from Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt started the 10th inning as the automatic runner on second base, Nolan Arenado singled and Alec Burleson reached on a fielder’s choice when White Sox third baseman Bryan Ramos threw home with Goldschmidt caught between home and third.

However, Ramos’ throw to the plate was in the dirt, catcher Korey Lee couldn’t field it cleanly and that allowed Goldschmidt to retreat to third base safely. That loaded the bases with no outs, but Lars Nootbaar struck out and extended his recent slump to 0 for 10 and Masyn Winn struck out and stretched his slump to 0 for 14. That set up Gorman’s/Herrera’s final at-bat.

Arenado continued what has become a breakout series with a 3-for-3 performance that included a three-run home run with two walks. Arenado drove in all three of the team’s runs in Friday night's win.

Cardinals leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan went 1 for 5 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.

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