This was supposed to just be a night to watch a prospect. Instead, Thomas Saggese turned a Cardinals-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium into a personal coming-out party, and St. Louis buried Los Angeles in the process, 13-8.
Saggese isn't a household name yet, but the path here is a story on its own. The 24-year-old infielder had been so bad in his first MLB stint this year — a.184/.244/.276 line with one homer in 82 plate appearances — that St. Louis shipped him back to Triple-A Memphis. He raked down there, and when injuries to Blaze Jordan and JJ Wetherholt opened a door, he got recalled. This was only his second start back.
He made it count immediately. Derrick Goold, who covers the Cardinals for the Post-Dispatch, tracked the damage in real time — a solo shot off Eric Lauer got things rolling before a two-run single from the night's other headliner.
Leo Bernal ropes a two-run single for his first #MLB hit -- and you can hear his family cheering as the Dodger Stadium pauses before boos. That was cool to hear a whole few rows just going wild as he lines a single to center to increase #stlcards lead.
That single belonged to Leo Bernal, making his major-league debut at catcher the same night. Goold noted Bernal's family could be heard cheering in the stands before Dodger Stadium answered back with boos — a small, human moment inside a game that was quickly turning into a laugher.
St. Louis kept adding on. Jordan Walker, fresh off winning the Home Run Derby, put a two-run shot into the seats to help push the lead further out of reach.
Jordan Walker crushes a two-run shot and the Cardinals lead the Dodgers 9-3!
But the night belonged to Saggese. He went deep again in the fifth off Alex Vesia, giving him a 2-for-3 night with two homers, three runs scored and three RBI — a stunning turnaround for a guy who was hitting under the Mendoza line in the majors a few months ago.
Thomas Saggese has his second homer of the game and the Cardinals have put up a 10-spot on the Dodgers!
Goold pointed out just how rare the feat was: it marked the first two-homer game by a Cardinal at Dodger Stadium since Albert Pujols hit career homers No. 699 and 700 there in September 2022 — and the most runs St. Louis has ever scored at that ballpark. The Cardinals finished with five home runs as a team on the night.
For the Dodgers, it's another rough data point in what's become a shaky stretch. Jon Morosi noted the club has gone 26-26 since July 1 — a.500 slide for a team that came into the year with championship expectations. A three-run ninth-inning rally made the final score look closer than the game actually was, per Katie Woo's recap, but the damage — seven runs allowed in the first three innings alone — was already done.