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“We can walk it off. We can win this game. It's not over,� third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “We didn't feel like the game was over when Chourio hit that homer. It was a great swing, but we felt like, 'Hey, we've got to find a way to win this game.'"

The Cardinals found a way to pull off a win Saturday at Busch Stadium. The answer came in the form of a solo home run from Arenado with one out in the inning.

Arenado’s home run — his third of the season — came on a 97.8 mph fastball thrown high and inside from right-hander Trevor Megill. The home run sailed 385 feet to left field and sent Arenado’s teammates flooding out of the dugout in a 6-5 walk-off win over Milwaukee.

“That was awesome to respond like that right after the fact,� said Cardinals starter Sonny Gray, who provided six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in the start. “That was awesome, that was our guy just kind of taking control of the game and saying, 'I'm going to end this thing.'"

Arenado’s impact on offense by delivering the game-winning hit comes a day after he impacted Friday’s series opener against the Brewers with his defense.

On Friday night, Arenado helped save a run in the eighth inning as the Cardinals held onto a 3-2 lead in a ballgame that represented their first one-run win of 2025. With runners on first and third base and one out in the frame, the 10-time Gold Glove award winner fielded a chopping grounder off the bat of Sal Frelick and threw across his body to home plate to nab Chourio as he tried to score the game’s tying run.

Following Saturday’s walk-off win, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said the impacts on both sides of the game by Arenado provided examples of the quality of player the eight-time All-Star has been across 13 seasons in the major leagues.

“Hall of Famer for a reason. He's one of the best at it on both sides of the baseball,� Marmol said. “He's going to continue to show that. He's determined to.�

The Cardinals (12-15) got out to a 5-0 lead with RBIs from Lars Nootbaar (2 for 4), Brendan Donovan (2 for 5), and Pedro Pages (1 for 3). Pages’ RBI came on a sacrifice fly that scored Nolan Gorman after Gorman doubled to begin the second inning and was moved to third base on a groundout to second base by Thomas Saggese.

Cardinals hitters combined for five doubles, with two coming from Masyn Winn and four of those coming between the third and fourth innings against Brewers starter Quinn Priester. St. Louis received multi-hit performances from four players including Willson Contreras.

“Those are the little things that add up over time,� Marmol said. “I like the approach there, and there are sometimes where it's just back-to-back doubles. (Arenado) finishes the game with a big homer. A lot to be proud of, for sure.�

The Brewers chipped away at their deficit with two runs in the fifth inning and another run in the sixth inning as they pushed Gray’s pitch count up to 91 through six innings. Gray received help from his defense in the fifth inning on a diving catch in left-center field from Victor Scot II to take away extra bases from Jake Bauers and he had another strong play backing him an inning later.

With one out in the sixth inning and the bases loaded, Saggese made a diving grab on a line drive from Joey Ortiz that deflected off Gray’s glove and bounced up the middle. Saggese snagged the baseball from behind the second base bag and, from the seat of his pants, flipped the baseball to Winn at second base for a force out. Saggese’s play helped the Cardinals and Gray limit Milwaukee to one run in that inning.

Scoreless relief outings from Steven Matz (2/3 of an inning), Riley O’Brien (1/3 of an inning), and Phil Maton (one inning) set up Helsley for a save opportunity — his sixth of the season — that resulted in his second blown save of the year.

A Cardinals club that returned home Friday following a 1-6 road trip vs. the Mets and Braves needed two at-bats in the ninth inning to reclaim its lead against the Brewers and secure a series win.

To do so, it took Arenado turning around a fastball from Megill that was “very tough� to muscle out and a commitment to the style of play that kept them in close loses while on the road.

“I just think we haven't changed. It's not fun losing, and we're not happy about that, but we're showing up every day,� Arenado said. “We're competing and we're battling. We're facing some good arms. The past two weeks has been a stretch of aces and we're going to go through that stretch again.

“As long as we continue with this mentality, we're going to be just fine. Like I said earlier... we're not built for easy, but we are tough and we can get through it.�