ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝

Called in from the bullpen with the Cardinals down 6-3 after they tacked on two runs in the top of the fifth inning, Svanson retired Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, and Lane Thomas on 14 pitches.

The scoreless inning by Svanson came after the Guardians knocked Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas around for six runs in the fourth inning. It preceded an offensive outburst that began with four consecutive singles and included a game-tying double from Victor Scott II and a go-head RBI on a sacrifice fly from Brendan Donovan that helped lift the Cardinals (46-38) to a 9-6 win at Progressive Field after they trailed 6-1.

“That's a real feel,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the momentum Svanson’s scoreless inning protected. “… We came in here and that was what (third base coach Ron "Pop" Warner) said — that was the game, in his opinion, because you get those two runs and then you're able to just stop it right there. When you're on the other side of that, sometimes you feel it.”

Svanson’s scoreless inning earned him his first career win.

“Honestly, it didn't really hit me until afterwards. I wasn't really thinking about it at all. I'm just glad that we were able to come back and win the game,” Svanson said of his milestone.

The effort was one of several contributions the Cardinals received to make their biggest comeback this season. Here’s a look impact moments needed to overcome a 6-1 deficit:

Donovan takes a walk

In the half inning before Svanson was brought in relief of Mikolas, the Cardinals scratched across two runs on a two-out double from Alec Burleson.

Burleson’s double marked the first runs the Cardinals had scored since the first inning, when Donovan began the game with a leadoff home run on the first pitch he saw. The two-out hit plated Donovan and Winn after some patience from Donovan provided a spark for the momentum that carried the Cardinals to a win.

After the first two Cardinals hitters were retired on five pitches to begin the inning, Donovan took four of the five pitches he was offered by Guardians starter Slade Cecconi to earn a walk. He was moved into scoring position by a double from Masyn Winn, who pounced on the first pitch he saw, and scored with ease by Burleson to draw the Cardinals closer.

“You can tell that was 100% his (Donovan’s) intent the way he kind of took that first one,” Marmol said. “He knows the situation of the game. He knows his role in it, and that's a perfect example of just seeing the bigger picture and understanding if we're going to do anything, what is it going to have to look like? That's a big part of the game as well.”

Scott gets left-on-left matchup

When the Cardinals lineup rallied in the sixth inning, a string of four consecutive singles to open the frame included hits from Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, and Yohel Pozo and shrunk the deficit to two runs. The consecutive hits forced Cecconi to exit, setting up Scott for a chance to tie the game against the left-handed Tim Herrin.

Entering Saturday with a .179 batting average in 67 at-bats vs. left-handed pitchers, Scott lined a slider to right field off Herrin for a game-tying two-run double.

Marmol said the at-bat was one that offered a chance for Scott to build confidence in facing left-handers. It was one they wanted to give Scott a opportunity to hit in as a “reward” following the 24-year-old center fielder's work early on Saturday with hitting coach Brant Brown.

For Scott, the scenario was one he could read. The results are ones he can pocket.

“I feel like in the back of my mind, I already knew kind of what they were going to do,” Scott said. “I saw a lefty warming up and it makes more sense to put the left-on-left match up in that situation there. I kind of already figured out in my mind how I want to attack this guy, and then just trusting what I've been working on today with (Brown) to be able to go out there and get results.”

Maton escapes a jam

As one of the four relievers the Cardinals received scoreless outings from, Phil Maton needed to work through traffic to notch his 17th hold and set up closer Ryan Helsley for his 16th save.

Brought in with two outs in the seventh inning to flip switch-hitting Ramirez around after Steven Matz threw 1 2/3 innings, Maton got Ramirez out on a lineout to end the inning. He retired Santana and Thomas to begin the eighth inning before a walk to Daniel Schneeman, a single by Nolan Jones, and a walk to Gabriel Arias loaded the bases.

With the Guardians bringing left-hander Angel Martinez off their bench and Maton lacking command on his fastball, the veteran reliever landed a curveball for a strike, had a second curveball fouled off and, after a cutter was thrown high-and-away, got Martinez to whiff on a curveball to leave the bases loaded.

“It's one of those situations where it's just like we need to really land a curveball and kind of force the issue early in that at-bat,” Maton said. “Fortunately, we got ahead with the curveballs and kind of allowed us to open up the fastball, to set up another curveball.”