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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When there’s a runner at first and a groundball headed within his range, rookie JJ Wetherholt has one thought when he gets the ball in his grasp.

“Just get him the ball,� he said. “That’s the only thing in my mind.�

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Against one of the best sluggers in the American League, Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore stuck with his best pitch at the best time and the outcome could not have been worse.

Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz catapulted a slider bending away from him and low over the fence near center field at Sutter Health Park for the grand slam that flipped the game on the Cardinals and the start on their lefty. Liberatore cruised through three innings with help from his defense, skirted trouble from a pair of singles in the fourth inning, and he seemed to be speeding toward one of the longest and possibly most effective starts of the season. His slider was sharp, his curveball a real factor, and the combo of breaking pitches cleared the avenue for his drive into the late innings.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Of all the pitches that Matthew Liberatore threw in a prolonged slog through the fifth inning, the one that went the farthest fittingly did the most damage.

Nick Kurtz’s 405-foot grand slam during the decisive five inning obliterated the Cardinals’ one-run lead and launched the Athletics to a 6-2 victory late Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park. Liberatore had navigated around a handful of hits to hold the A’s scoreless through his first four innings, but in the fifth the A’s sent nine batters to the plate, forced the lefty to throw a career-high 43 pitches for one inning, and reversed the course of the game.

SACRAMENTO — For Riley O’Brien, one of the biggest leaps he made on the way to pitching the ninth inning for the Cardinals was a mental one and realizing it wasn’t enough to be able to “flush� a bad game from one day to the next.

He had to start even smaller.

Cardinals fans may have recalibrated their goals after watching the team jump out to a fast start. But whether the Redbirds can continue to exceed expectations may come down to one limiting factor, how much pitching holds the team back.

The Cardinals and Athletics continue a three-game series in West Sacramento, California, on Wednesday night at 8:40 p.m. (St. Louis time). St. Louis started fast and held on for a 6-4 win Tuesday in the opener.

It’s July 15, 1967. “Windy" by The Association is the top song in the country, “You Only Live Twice� is No. 1 at the box office and the St. Louis Cardinals are doomed.

I mean, of all players to crack a line drive into Bob Gibson’s leg!