What should have been a day to remember for Nathan Church turned into one he’d almost like to forget.

The St. Louis rookie outfielder hit two home runs and robbed another with a leaping catch at the wall, but he grounded into a game-ending double play as the Cardinals fell 11-9 to the visiting Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals will attempt to avoid being swept in the three-game interleague series when it wraps up on Sunday afternoon.

“It was a good day for our offense, put up a lot of runs, but the outcome wasn’t what we wanted,” said Church, 25, who was summoned out of the dugout by the fans after his two-run homer in the seventh inning broke a 7-7l tie.

Church hit a solo shot in the second and added a sacrifice fly in a four-run third as the Cardinals took their first lead.

In the sixth, he made a leaping grab at the left-field wall to deny Seattle’s Mitch Garver of a homer.

“Really good day for him,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Church, who was playing in his 50th major league game. “He just continues to play really good defense, and the two homers, man, his swing just keeps looking better and better and the confidence continues to grow, which is what he needs. Both sides of the ball starting to settle in. The path he took today … just the work going into what he’s doing is really positive.”

JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages also went deep for the Cardinals, but it wasn’t enough as Julio Rodriguez, Will Wilson and Cole Young homered for the Mariners.

Leading 9-7 in the eighth, Marmol called on closer Riley O’Brien with runners on second and third and one out. Pinch hitter Connor Joe greeted O’Brien with a tying two-run single.

In the ninth, J.P. Crawford reached on a bunt single with one out, Garver walked, and Young was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Leo Rivas lined the next pitch up the middle to break a 9-9 deadlock.

“It was one of those days,” said O’Brien (3-1), a Seattle native. “I’ll try not to think about the game for a little bit, watch it (Sunday morning) and see what I can take away from it.”

Rivas broke out of a 5-for-44 slump.

“I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball good the last couple days but right at ’em,” he said. And to have that one (fall) in a good situation like that is like — oooof — a relief for me.”

The 11 runs and 19 hits were season highs for the Mariners, who have won three games in a row and five of their past seven.

“What we’ve been waiting for,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Our guys, we don’t panic. We just continue to put together good at-bats, try to crawl our way back in the game. And that’s what they did.”

Sunday’s series finale will feature a pair of right-handers in the Mariners’ Emerson Hancock (2-1, 2.83 ERA) against the Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy (1-2, 3.29).

Hancock didn’t get a decision Monday in a 6-4 loss to the visiting Athletics after giving up three runs on seven hits over five innings. He’s 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career relief appearance against St. Louis.

McGreevy took a 5-3 loss Monday for the Cardinals at Miami when he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings. He’s 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in one previous start vs. Seattle.

–Field Level Media

The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates will turn to right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on Sunday afternoon as they look to complete a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mlodzinski (1-1, 3.28 ERA) will oppose Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison (1-1, 3.06).

The Pirates scored three runs in the 10th inning en route to a 6-3 victory Saturday, fueled by RBI singles from Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales. It was Reynolds’ 51st RBI in 102 career games against Milwaukee, which lost its fourth straight contest.

The Pirates have clinched their third straight series victory against a National League Central rival this season.

“In division, to be able to win series is really important,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said following Saturday’s game. “We need to continue to do that, and I think that continuing that gritty, dirtbag style of baseball is what we need to do.”

Milwaukee is in last place in the division despite its .500 record.

Mlodzinski lost his last start, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 5-1 defeat Tuesday at Texas. In the two starts before that, he did not allow a run in 11 1/3 innings.

He has not given up a home run this season in 24 2/3 innings in five games, including four starts.

Mlodzinski will make his first career start against Milwaukee after 12 relief appearances. He is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA against the Brewers, allowing 11 runs, but only six earned, in 15 1/3 innings.

Gonzales had three hits Saturday to extend his hitting streak to six games. He is batting .458 (11-for-24) over that span, with three RBIs.

“We need to keep earning it. It’s a daily thing,” Kelly said. “We still need to keep grinding it out and getting after it and continue to earn that respect every day.”

Without injured starters Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn and Christian Yelich, the power-starved Brewers have just one home run in their last 10 games, including none in their last six — their longest streak since six games in July 2015.

“When you’re going through a spell where you feel like nothing’s going right, it seems like everything backfires,” manager Pat Murphy said Saturday. “But there’s a lot of great performances I can point out.”

Harrison lasted just three innings in his last start, allowing one run on four hits without a decision in a 12-4 win at Detroit on Tuesday. He struck out three but walked three, hit one batter and had a wild pitch in the 72-pitch outing.

Harrison has faced the Pirates once, when he was with the San Francisco Giants, tossing five scoreless innings without a decision in a 3-0 win in 2024.

“The Pirates are a couple games ahead of us, but you’d think they’re in first place,” Murphy said. “They’re playing with such great confidence. They’ve got a nice team.”

–Field Level Media

Josh Jung is having an April to remember for the Texas Rangers, who will face the Athletics in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.

Jung continued his hot streak with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 4-3 victory. The win moved Texas one game over .500 and into a tie for first place in the American League West with the Athletics.

After going 0-for-17 in March, Jung is batting .371 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 20 April games. He said after Saturday’s contest that he remains focused on improving his approach at the plate.

“I think I could (improve) every night,” Jung said. “There’s a couple of at-bats I wish I could have back. But that (homer) was in a big spot. Over this little stretch I’ve been on, I’ve been able to execute. Every day is a battle to get in there and execute. You get four or five at-bats, and how many can you win.”

Sunday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of right-handers as the Rangers’ Kumar Rocker (1-1, 3.48 ERA) faces J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.74).

Rocker retired 13 consecutive hitters at one point and allowed one run across six innings in a 5-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

“One of the best parts was, after the first inning, he put up five zeros,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “To keep us in the game and then provide the innings after that, and just kind of shut the momentum down on their side, was a huge step for him.”

Rocker owns a 19-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four starts this season covering 20 2/3 innings.

Shea Langeliers is 3-for-6 against Rocker, who is 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in three career starts vs. the Athletics.

Ginn allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The A’s won 6-4.

“It was a solid outing for J.T.,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “Any time a young guy goes out and gives up some (early) contact, it’s easy for things to kind of unwind. But I was impressed by how he finished. His sinker had a lot of life.”

Jung has two homers in eight at-bats against Ginn, who is 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in five career starts vs. Texas.

The Athletics are looking to bounce back after losing Saturday despite out-hitting the Rangers 7-5.

“We came out and took some great at-bats,” Kotsay said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap to the other starter, who gave them five good innings and kept us at three runs. Offensively, we just didn’t add onto the lead and give ourselves any margin for error.”

Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz tied a franchise record by drawing a walk in his 15th consecutive game.

Kotsay is monitoring the status of designated hitter Brent Rooker, who has not played since April 9 because of a right oblique strain and is nearing a return to the lineup. Kotsay said Rooker might not need a rehab assignment and could rejoin the team in the next few days.

–Field Level Media