Tyler Anderson was good, but not good enough, in a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Nolan Arenado made a costly throwing error in the fourth inning that led to three unearned runs, the difference in the game. The errors was just the 12th on the year for Arenado, winner of three consecutive Gold Glove awards at third base and presumably in line for his fourth. Despite the error, Arenado’s fielding percentage remains the best of his career at .974.
For St. Louis, Carlos Martinez matched Anderson through five innings despite battling altitude fatigue. Martinez also drove in two runs to give St. Louis the lead following Arenado’s error. The Cardinals bullpen kept Colorado at bay until the ninth inning when Ryan Rayburn homered to make it a two-run game. Charlie Blackmon singled and Carlos Gonzalez walked to give Arenado a shot at redemption, but the reigning Silver Slugger lined out to left to end the game.
The win moved St. Louis into a tie with San Francisco, who lost on Monday, for the final wild card spot in the National League.