Lars Nootbaar sits against southpaw on Thursday

Nootbaar’s home run was his third. He hit a three-run home run off Reynaldo Lopez in the first inning. Nootbaar walked, stole second base and came around to score in the fourth inning. He’s hitting .265 with a .781 OPS and 12 RBI in 102 at-bats.

Home-field advantage. In the top of the eighth, Michael Harris II hit a flyball to right that would have been a homer in 26 ballparks, only to see it caught by Jordan Walker. In the bottom of the inning, Crooks sent one to right-center that was a homer in 24 ballparks, and in this case, Busch was one of them. In the top of the ninth, Drake Baldwin hit a ball to center that was a homer in 12 ballparks, but again, it was an out in St. Louis. Crooks’ homer was his second in 66 plate appearances since being called up. Having fallen back behind Pedro Pages on the depth start, Crooks has started just one of the last nine games, leaving his roster spot in doubt heading into the second half.

Velázquez socked a two-run homer off an otherwise-effective Robert Gasser to make it a 3-2 game in the sixth. The Brewers would score the next seven to turn it into a rout. Velázquez has homered four times in just 52 at-bats with the Cardinals, and he’s now the proud owner of an OPS of .908. One thing is for certain, Velázquez is certainly capable of tearing up left-handed pitching.

Sending Crooks out to face Jacob Misiorowski for his first at-bats in five days wasn’t exactly fair, but that’s part of what hitting .164 gets you. Crooks was supposed to be the Cardinals’ most frequent starter behind the plate after he was added to the roster at the end of May, but the start today was just his fourth in the last 14 games. If he’s not going to play any more than this, the Cardinals might return him to Triple-A and bring back Yohel Pozo as a third catching option.

Church did his damage as part of a seven-run seventh inning, with his 392-foot (97.5-mph EV) two-run shot off of Tyler Kinley pulling the Cardinals even at five runs apiece. That would be his only hit on the night, but it played a critical role in the comeback victory. For the season, the 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .254/.295/.410 with seven homers, 25 RBI and five stolen bases.

Although Velázquez was the star of the game, the Cardinals still had Alec Burleson hit for him in the eighth. Burleson wound up striking out against Ian Hamilton. Starting almost exclusively against lefties, Velázquez is 12-for-38 with three homers since being brought up on May 29. It doesn’t seem destined to lead to an expanded role, but the Cardinals will keep rotating out Burleson, Lars Nootbaar or Nathan Church to make room for him against southpaws.

Nootbaar had a single and a walk earlier in the game before starting the bottom of the ninth inning with a double. While he would come around to score, the Cardinals’ rally would fall one run short of tying the game. Nootbaar continues to mash at the plate since being activated. He’s hitting .291 with an .867 OPS and seven RBI in 16 games.

Crooks got the start behind the plate in this one and put St. Louis ahead for good with a fourth-inning double into the left-center field gap. It wound up being more than enough run support for Cardinals starter Dustin May, who went the distance for his first career shutout.

Crooks’ homer was 97.5 mph off the bat and went a projected 374 feet. He later hit a ball 103.9 mph and 402 feet off A.J. Minter, but that was just a flyout. Crooks did have one homer in 46 plate appearances as a major leaguer last season, so today’s was the second of his career. He’s started six of the Cardinals’ 12 games and gone 4-for-22 since being called up two weeks ago.

Church’s first game back from the injured list after missing a little over two weeks was a good one. The 25-year-old hasn’t set the world on fire in his first season as a (mostly) full-time player, but there have been enough good moments for a 260/.294/.407 slash in 2026. He should be in center more often than not with Victor Scott II no longer on the roster, so those looking for a spark in NL-only leagues can keep Church on the radar.