Herrera's 379-Foot Blast Seals STL's 3-2 Win Over Colorado

Ivan Herrera hit a 379-foot home run to left in the third inning that swung STL's win probability from 76% to 84%, and that was the difference. St. Louis held on from there, beating Colorado 3-2 despite the Rockies putting up eight hits against Kyle Leahy.

The second inning was a whirlwind. Colorado drew first blood when Johnston grounded out to shortstop and Rumfield scored, putting the Rockies up 1-0. St. Louis answered immediately — Church hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Crooks and tie it, then Torres followed with another sacrifice fly to left, scoring Winn to give STL a 2-1 lead. Three runs, two sacrifice flies, and a lead change, all in the same frame. The story of that inning, though, is that Colorado left it down by one despite generating the first threat.

Then Herrera ended the suspense. His solo shot to left in the third — 379 feet — pushed the lead to 3-1 and swung STL's win probability from 76% to 84%. That eight-point swing looks modest on paper, but it was the decisive blow. Colorado clawed one back in the fourth when Johnston grounded out to second and Rumfield scored again — Rumfield crossed the plate twice on the night, going 3-for-4 — but the Rockies never found the equalizer. The final stood at 3-2.

On the mound, the story of the night was the contrast in command. Leahy allowed 8 hits over 5.0 innings but walked nobody and struck out 8 — that's a pitcher who gave up contact but never lost the zone. Feltner, on the other side, went 5.1 innings and allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits, but his 3 walks are what appears to have cost Colorado. Ferguson came on in relief for STL and was sharp — 1.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts. Colorado's offense wasn't quiet: McCarthy went 3-for-4, Castro went 2-for-4, and Johnston drove in both Rockies runs despite going 0-for-2. The hits were there. The runs, ultimately, weren't enough.