Walker Homers Again, But Sloppy 4th Costs Cardinals-Guardians Win 9-3

Q: What was the final score of the Cardinals vs. Guardians game on April 12, 2026?

The final score was 9-3 in favor of the Cleveland Guardians.

Q: Who hit a home run for the Guardians in the first inning?

Angel Martinez hit a home run for the Guardians in the first inning.

Q: What mistakes did the Cardinals make in the fourth inning?

The Cardinals had a sloppy fourth inning that included a potential error by JJ Wetherholt and multiple walks that allowed the Guardians to score three runs.

Q: How did the Cardinals respond after falling behind in the game?

The Cardinals tied the game 1-1 in the first inning with a series of singles, but could not maintain the momentum after the Guardians took the lead.

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 12: Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a single against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on April 12, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Monday night’s game at Busch Stadium had its good points, but the end result was a somewhat sloppy night for the St. Louis Cardinals as the Cleveland Guardians ended their 5-game losing streak in the head-to-head against St. Louis by winning 9-3.

Cleveland got on the scoreboard quickly thanks to a 1st inning Angel Martinez home run in the 1st inning off of Matthew Liberatore making it 1-0 Guardians. St. Louis answered quickly with some nice small ball in the bottom of the first after JJ Wetherholt smoked a single into right field then advanced to third base on a nice hit-and-run single by Ivan Herrera and then scored on a golf stroke single by Alec Burleson tying the game 1-1.

The top of the 4th inning was a sloppy one for St. Louis. Ramirez walked and then stole second followed by a walk by Hoskins. Fry singled to left advancing Ramirez to third base and Fry to second. Schneemann singled to right field off of JJ Wetherholt’s glove in what could have been scored an error scoring Hoskins and Ramirez making it 3-1 Guardians. Hedges would then lift a sacrifice fly to left giving the Guardians a 4-1 lead. Matthew Liberatore would be lifted after 5 innings as he gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs with 3 walks and just 2 strikeouts.

Cleveland would add 2 more runs to their lead in the top of the 6th inning on a 2-run shot by Brayan Rocchio. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jordan Walker would provide one of the few bright spots as he slammed a laser shot over the left field wall. Yes, that’s 6 home runs in just 7 games for Walker. He is on fire. Jordan also now possesses a 9-game hitting streak.

Sloppiness would rear its ugly head again in the top of the 8th inning when Ryan Fernandez came in to relieve Gordon Graceffo after being recalled from Memphis today. After Fry had walked and Britto singled to center, Fernandez grabbed a dribbler infield single from Rocchio, but then overthrew third base when Fry overran the bag that allowed him to score and make it 7-2 Guardians. Kwan would follow that with another single giving the Guardians a 9-2 lead.

Since bright spots are hard to find in stretches like the Cardinals are currently in, Jordan Walker also legged out a hustle infield single in the bottom of the 8th inning. Nolan Gorman also muscled a single into right field from a ball in on his hands after Walker reached, too. Walker would eventually score on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Pagés to make it 9-3 Guardians which would be the final score despite a small Cardinals attempt at a rally in the bottom of the 9th inning.

The Cardinals will try again Tuesday night against the Guardians as Michael McGreevy will take his 1-1 record to the mound for a scheduled 6:45pm start time at Busch Stadium.