Alec Burleson crushed three two-run homers and a Cardinals club that once led 6-0 rallied from a 7-6 deficit with seven runs in the eighth inning of a 13-7 defeat of the Yankees. There were 10 homers hit -- five by the Cards and five by the Yanks -- in a wild, back-and-forth game.
With three epic swings of the bat at Yankee Stadium on Monday night, Alec Burleson showed why his name was bandied about in trade rumors so often and why the Cardinals ultimately chose to hang onto their 2025 Silver Slugger award winner after the MLB Trade Deadline.
As it turns out, Burleson’s early work wasn’t enough to overcome a shaky Cardinals bullpen and the power-packed Yankees. However, teammates Nathan Church and Jimmy Crooks and a towering 418-foot shot by Burleson saved the night for St. Louis in one of its wildest wins in decades.
Burleson hit three two-run homers to key a strong start to the night and a capped spirited seven-run rally after the Yankees came alive with seven straight runs in the middle innings of a 13-7 Cardinals win in a game that featured 10 home runs.
Burleson, one of the elder statesmen on the team at 27 years old, spoke of his relief to still be a member of the Cardinals following Monday’s frenetic Trade Deadline.
“Obviously we lost some key guys that we really enjoyed having in our locker room,” Burleson said to Cardinals TV. “But, for me personally, I want to be here and I want to help this team through whatever this looks like over the next couple of years. I want to be here to contribute to a lot more wins in the future. So, yeah, I was relieved because I love St. Louis, but we lost a few good guys and I’m going to cheer them on from afar. But, overall, there was a little relief.”
How wacky was this win? The Cardinals led 6-0 after four innings, surrendered five homers and seven runs in the guts of the game and then responded with a seven-run eighth to stun the Yankee Stadium crowd.
A Cardinals club that hit just five home runs in the first 17 games after the break for the MLB All-Star Game mashed five homers in The Bronx. Burleson hit homers 16, 17 and 18 and pushed his RBI total to 77 with his career-best six-RBI night.
Church drilled a three-run homer to wipe out a 7-6 deficit. Two batters later, Crooks drilled his fourth MLB homer of the season – this one a 376-foot shot on a first-pitch fastball from Angel Chivilli. Then Burleson capped his career night by golfing a slider 418 feet for a third two-run blast. Burleson became the 25th player in franchise history with at least three homers in a game and the first Cardinal with three homers since Ivan Herrera on April 2, 2025.
Up 6-0 after four innings, starter Michael McGreevy surrendered a two-run shot to Austin Wells and lefty reliever Justin Bruihl gave up a solo blast to Trent Grisham in the fifth inning. In the seventh inning, the Cardinals turned the game over to veteran reliever Ryne Stanek, who gave up back-to-back 400-foot blasts to Ryan McMahon and Jose Caballero. Stanek, who surrendered three homers in a loss in Minnesota earlier in the season, was lifted after a Grisham double and Luis Garcia Jr. – acquired in a trade with the Nationals – drilled a two-run shot off George Soriano.
That simply set the stage for one of the Cardinals’ biggest innings of the season.
“You get down because you feel like you’ve won the game in the third or fourth inning and they come back,” Burleson said. “We could have easily laid down, but (Church) had some really good at bats and Jimmy (Crooks) with a big homer. Everybody up and down (the lineup) did a good job and I’m really happy for this team.”
The rebuilding Cardinals traded veteran right-handed pitcher Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero to the Brewers and outfielder Lars Nootbaar to the Dbacks for four Minor League prospects on Monday, but they resisted plenty of offers for the sweet-swinging Burleson, who hit his 16th and 17th homers and pushed his RBI total to 75 with Monday’s performance. Burleson’s first-inning smash off Schlittler left the bat at 103.6 mph and the second homer against lefty Tim Hill exited the park at 108.3 mph.
Nootbaar, who had been a member of the Cardinals since 2018, was informed of the trade during batting practice on Monday afternoon. Before leaving Yankee Stadium and heading to Arizona where he will reunite with close friend and former teammate Nolan Arenado, Nootbaar issued a tearful message to Cardinals fans via a video posted on social media.
“It’s an emotional time for me and I just want to thank you guys for everything,” Nootbaar said as his voice wavered with emotion. “From being an eight-round draft pick in 2018 to being on the (Cardinals) in 2021 that had a 17-game winning streak, to being able to play with legends of the game and win the division in (2022), all the way to this day, you guys have always had my back and gave me great support.
“From a kid that wasn’t a high prospect at all, you guys gave me great support and embraced me like I was,” Nootbaar continued as his eyes filled with tears. “St. Louis was a special place and the only place I’ve ever known – I bought a house there and everything – and it’s tough. But I just want to thank you guys for everything you’ve done. You guys mean more to me than I’ve ever meant to you guys, so thank you.”
Cards knocked Schlittler out after three innings
The Cardinals rattled Schlittler early with a lead-off walk from JJ Wetherholt and a rocket off the bat of Burleson when Schlittler tried to throw a 97.1 mph high fastball by him. Burleson showed how good of a bad-ball hitter he is once again by lacing a 103.6 mph liner over the wall in right field for his 16th homer of the season. That shot gave the Cards a 2-0 lead just 12 pitches into the game.
Schlittler issues lead-off walks in the second and third innings and both came around to score. Nathan Church walked to open the second inning and raced around the bases to score on a Jose Fermin double to make it 3-0.
Cardinals’ cleanup hitter Ivan Herrera worked an 11-pitch at bat against Schlittler and walked to open the third inning. Herrera’s walk was a season-worst fifth by Schlittler before there was an out in the third inning. The DH stole second and scored on a Church opposite-field single to give the Redbirds a commanding 4-0 lead that knocked Schlittler out of the game after just three innings.
Schlittler, a 10-game winner and owner of the American League’s best ERA among qualified pitchers, had his shortest outing of the season on Monday. He came into the start against the Cardinals having surrendered just seven earned runs in July, but he needed 83 pitches to get through three frames against the Cards. He was charged for four runs, four hits and five walks, while striking out six.
