ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tommy Edman was confused.
The St. Louis infielder thought he had made the final out.
Instead, his long drive to left field nicked off the glove of outfielder Alex Call for a two-run, two-out double to cap St. Louis’ five-run ninth inning in a 6-5 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.
“I definitely thought he caught it at first,” Edman said. “Once I heard the cheering and saw everyone running out to me, I realized what had happened. It went from bad to good pretty quickly.”
St. Louis moved 9 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead, winning for the 20th time in its last 23 home games. The Cardinals are a season-high 25 games over .500 at 81-56.
Edman doubled to left off reliever Kyle Finnegan (5-3) to cap the rally.
“That last inning was pretty incredible,” Edman said. “We had seven or eight good at-bats. We kind of played pass the baton.”
Explained St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol, “To stay locked in, it speaks to the culture of this team. The fight there at the end is impressive to see.”
Edman had his second walk-off hit of the season. He hit a late two-run homer to beat Cincinnati 5-4 on June 11. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
The Cardinals became the first team this season to win a game after trailing by four or more runs entering the ninth inning.
Paul Goldschmidt hit his 35th homer, a solo homer off Cory Abbott leading off the fourth. Goldschmidt leads the NL with 108 RBIs. He’s one homer shy of tying his career best.
Jordan Montgomery turned in another strong outing with his new team. Montgomery allowed one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings and did not get a decision. He struck out six, walked two and left with it tied 1-1.
“I found a good groove,” Montgomery said. “Me and (Yadier Molina) were pretty dialed in there. I was just kind of throwing it to his glove. I was executing a lot of pitches.”
Montgomery is 5-0 in seven starts since he was acquired from the New York Yankees for outfielder Harrison Bader on Aug. 2. The Cardinals are 25-4 since they picked up Montgomery and pitcher Jose Quintana at the trade deadline.
Jake Woodford (4-0) pitched the ninth for the victory.
Luke Voit hit a two-run homer for Washington.
Abbott allowed one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.
Joey Meneses broke a 1-1 tie with two-out single in the eighth of reliever Giovanny Gallegos. Voit followed with his 19th homer of the season for a 4-1 cushion. He made his major league debut in St. Louis and played 70 games with the Cardinals from 2017-18.
The Nationals tied it at 1 on a two-out triple by Cesar Hernandez in the seventh. Nelson Cruz drew a one-out walk to start the rally.
“I thought we played really well up until that last inning,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “I saw a lot of positive things.”
St. Louis climbed within 5-4 in the ninth on a run-scoring double by Nolan Arenado, a ground out by Corey Dickerson and an RBI single by Molina.
BIG HITTER
Golf star John Daly threw out the first pitch prior to the contest. Daly is in town to compete in the Ascension Charity Classic this weekend at nearby Norwood Hills Country Club. The two-time major champion attended Helias High School in Jefferson City.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Dylan Carlson was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left thumb strain. He is not expected to swing a bat for at least the next four days.
UP NEXT
RHP Adam Wainwright (10-9, 3.21) will face Washington RHP Josiah Gray (7-9, 4.91) in the finale of the four-game series on Thursday afternoon. Wainwright and batterymate Yadier Molina will likely tie the career record for most games together at 324, which is currently held by the Detroit Tigers duo of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan (1963-1975).