Playing just his second MLB game since returning from double heel surgery, Lars Nootbaar blasted a two-run, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Cardinals to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over the rival Reds.
Two games with Lars Nootbaar back in the lineup for the St. Louis Cardinals and two games with stirring, come-from-behind victories.
A day after playing his first MLB game following a prolonged recovery after double heel surgery and shining with two hits, a double and a run scored, Nootbaar hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Cardinals to a somewhat stunning 6-5 win over the Reds on Saturday at Busch Stadium.
A rousing crowd of 26,904 throbbed with raw emotion when Nootbaar drilled left-hander Sam Moll’s hanging sweeper some 433 feet and 109.9 mph off the bat to allow for the Cardinals’ 18th comeback win of the season. That total is tied for third in MLB with the Dodgers and trails only Atlanta’s 22 comebacks and Arizona’s 21 rallies.
Adorned with the Cardinals’ “Got that Dawg in Me” home run chain, Nootbaar was treated to his first curtain call of the season after battling his way back to the big leagues and playing the role of hero yet again for a second straight game.
“This is our 18th (comeback), so I’m just trying to help out and do my part on this team,” Nootbaar said following his first homer of 2026. “They know how to come back because they have done it all year. So, to be a part of this one, it was pretty fun.”
Fun, wouldn’t be the word to describe the nervous way the game ended in the top of the ninth for the Cardinals. Closer Riley O’Brien, who has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 13 outings, retired the first two batters before loading the bases. His 3-1 pitch to Sal Stewart appeared to have missed high and in and was initially called ball four, but rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks challenged the call and was awarded a strike. A pitch later, Stewart grounded out to end the game and secure the Cards' third straight win.
“The time in between waiting (for the challenge) adds a level of excitement for the fans,” Marmol said. “I’m not sure what I would call it for myself, but it was (a) good (result).”
Nootbaar finally playing pain-free again
Nootbaar, who has seen his past three seasons marred by repeated injuries, made the bold decision to have the painful Haglund’s deformities removed in October. The painful spurs near his Achilles tendon and the back of his ankle had caused him pain and soreness for years, and his hope now is that being free of those limitations will allow him to finally reach his full potential as a hitter for the Cardinals.
On Friday, when Nootbaar said it was “like Opening Day for me,” he beat out an infield single, drilled a double off the wall and scored from second on Ivan Herrera’s single to right field as the Cards rallied from a 3-0 deficit and won 10-3. This time, he said, he would be walking the next day without pain after having the double heel surgeries.
After Jose Fermin opened the eighth inning by shooting a single into right field and moving to second on Bryan Torres’ sacrifice bunt, Nootbaar delivered the game-turning blast. Nootbaar fell behind in the count, but he drilled the 1-2 pitch over the wall in right field for a no-doubter of a home run.
“I was trying to stay inside of the sinker and (Moll) has a good sweeper too and he fooled me twice on it early and I was able to get a good look at it earlier in the count,” Nootbaar said. “Not trying to do too much and luckily got a great swing on it.”
Nootbaar joked that “adrenaline cures all” in reference to the soreness that kept him out of the starting lineup on Saturday. However, Marmol strategically used him as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning when Reds’ manager Terry Francona intentionally walked him.
When Nootbaar’s spot came back up in the eighth, the sweet-swinging lefty made the rival Reds pay for pitching to him.
“It was good to use him off the bench because dude can hit, man,” Marmol said of Nootbaar, who blasted three Minor League homers during his rehab assignments in Palm Beach, Springfield and Memphis while working his way back to the big leagues. “That was a big swing left-on-left, and it was a heck of a lot of fun for a lot of reasons.”
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