Riley O’Brien protects three-run lead in 10th

O’Brien came in to protect a one-run lead and did just that. The 31-year-old blew his most recent save chance against the Dodgers on Thursday and has not been effective as of late, but he was at least able to convert his 36th save Friday.

O’Brien has given up 10 runs in his last five appearances, taking his ERA from 2.96 to 4.18. The Cardinals have no desire to replace him in the closer’s role, so he’ll probably be left there for now. However, another bad outing right away might not leave them with any choice but to make a move.

O’Brien gave up one run to take a loss in a tie game last night and six runs in a blown save/loss Sunday against the Phillies, but he had an easy time in an 11-pitch ninth today. He leads the National League and is third in the majors with his 34 saves. With O’Brien and George Soriano both having pitched back-to-back days, Ryne Stanek might be in line for a save chance on Friday.

This one wasn’t nearly as bad as Sunday’s six-run massacre, but it still hurts some. O’Brien gave up a leadoff single to Samuel Basallo on a grounder towards third that would have been handled if the infield hadn’t been shifted over and then a go-ahead double to Christian Encarnacion-Strand before retiring the next three batters to keep it a one-run game. The Cardinals, though, couldn’t pick him up. It’s O’Brien’s sixth loss to go along with five blown saves. Still, he was pitching so well in the month prior to Sunday’s outing that his closer’s role should be safe for now.

All six runs scored with two outs. O’Brien loaded the bases before allowing a three-run double to Edmundo Sosa, and Bryan De La Cruz followed with a game-tying hit. That set the stage for Kyle Schwarber’s walk-off homer on O’Brien’s 39th pitch of the inning. The Cardinals’ closer hadn’t allowed a run this month until Sunday’s meltdown.

The Cardinals got O’Brien up when they took the lead in the ninth today but then sat him down after going ahead by five runs. They instead went to George Soriano, who has been very reliable this year. Soriano, though, walked three and gave up a hit while getting two outs. O’Brien entered a save situation with the score 10-6 and gave up a two-run single to Sal Stewart before walking two to make it 10-9. Matt McLain, already with a grand slam on the day, came up again with the bases loaded, but his hard liner to right was caught to end the game. O’Brien threw 15 pitches today while working for the third time in four days, so he might be down Friday. Soriano would normally be the fallback, but he’ll almost certainly be rested, too. It might be Gordon Graceffo’s time to shine.

O’Brien struck out Eugenio Suárez for the second straight day to finish off the save. It was his seventh straight hitless inning in a row.

O’Brien made it look pretty easy today, though it helped that he was facing Eugenio Suárez (36 percent strikeout rate), Dane Myers (26 percent strikeout rate) and Michael Toglia (just his sixth game this season but a 39 percent strikeout rate last year). O’Brien has allowed one hit over 10 scoreless innings in his last 10 appearances.

With the save, O’Brien is now up to 30 on the year. He didn’t allow a hit, and picked up a strikeout while lowering his ERA to 3.14 on the year. A 40-save campaign is within reach if the Cardinals get hot.

O’Brien got a 100-mph lineout to left, a 103-mph groundout and then an 88-mph liner to left that required an excellent diving catch from Everson Pereira. It’s his seventh straight scoreless appearance, and he’s now tied with Mason Miller for the NL lead in saves.