Jul 8, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) celebrates with catcher Pedro Pages (43) after hitting a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Cardinals-Dodgers Showdown Included Improbable Web-Gem

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals had a bit of a sale ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

By now, you've likely heard all about it. If you haven't you can just look to the bullpen to see the changes. Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton are no longer with the organization. The Cardinals traded the trio as the club struggled heading into the deadline overall.

You'd think after a sale and placing a star on the Injured List in Nolan Arenado, that a team would struggle out of the gate. It's tough to bounce back from stuff like that. But, St. Louis has won two of three since the deadline, including a gutsy 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. It was a pitcher's duel between Sonny Gray and Tyler Glasnow. Both went seven innings and allowed one earned run each. From there, both bullpens held up for the most part. St. Louis was able to squeak to runs in, though, and come away on top.

One thing that certainly helped with this was an incredible diving play in the ninth inning by Lars Nootbaar to secure the first out of the inning. The video is better than any description, so check it out below.

#Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not happy after #STLCards PH Yohel Pozel drilled a 1B into RF for the go-ahead run and then RF Lars Nootbaar made a spectacular sliding catch in the bottom of the 9th to take a hit away from Mookie Betts after Shohei Ohtani had singled. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/JFXaJtYQw2
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) August 5, 2025

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had nothing but praise for the Cardinals outfielder after the play, as transcribed by MLB.com's John Denton.

"Nootbaar, I don't know the out probability on that one, but he went a long way to make that play," Roberts said. "They get a jam shot to go ahead, and they make a great play against us, and we don't get that flair. You got to give credit to those guys. Nootbaar made a heck of a play."

What a night and what a win.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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