Cards Come Up Short as Cubs Even Series at Busch in an Ugly Loss
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Come Up Short as Cubs Even Series at Busch in an Ugly Loss
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
ST. LOUIS — One night after the Cardinals found a spark, the Cubs answered back.
Chicago evened the weekend series Saturday night at Busch Stadium, beating St. Louis 6-1 behind a strong start from right-hander Ben Brown and a steady offensive night led by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner.
The Cardinals were looking to build on Friday night’s 6-5 win, but the offense never found the same rhythm. After hitting three home runs in the series opener, St. Louis managed just one run Saturday and could not string together enough quality at-bats to pressure Brown.
Kyle Leahy gave the Cardinals a fighting chance early. He worked out of trouble in the fourth inning, escaping a bases-loaded jam to keep the game scoreless. That gave St. Louis a chance to strike first, and the Cardinals did just that in the bottom half of the inning.
JJ Wetherholt singled and moved into scoring position, and Alec Burleson followed with an RBI single to right field, giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead. It was a good, clean piece of hitting and the kind of situational swing the Cardinals needed against Brown.
But the lead did not last.
The Cubs tied the game in the fifth when Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled and Michael Busch singled him home. Leahy exited after 4.1 innings, allowing one run while keeping the Cardinals within reach.
The sixth inning became the turning point.
Chicago took advantage of a throwing error by Ryan Fernandez, a walk, a hit batter and then the key swings that followed. Nico Hoerner singled to put the Cubs ahead, and Busch added a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 3-1. It was not a clean inning, and against a division opponent, that kind of baseball usually gets expensive.
The Cubs added another run in the eighth when Crow-Armstrong homered off Gordon Graceffo, his seventh of the season, pushing the lead to 4-1. Chicago then added two more in the ninth, with Crow-Armstrong driving in another run as the Cubs finished off the 6-1 win.
Brown was the story for Chicago. He allowed only one run over seven innings, holding the Cardinals to three hits while striking out six. St. Louis had a chance in the sixth when Victor Scott II walked and Wetherholt singled, but Iván Herrera grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Wetherholt had two of the Cardinals’ three hits and scored their only run. Burleson drove him in. Beyond that, the Cardinals’ lineup was quiet.
The loss dropped St. Louis back into a split through the first two games of the series. The Cardinals entered Saturday night in second place in the National League Central after Friday’s win had moved them ahead of Chicago in the standings. They also came in with a 20-10 record in night games, one of the best marks in baseball, but the Cubs controlled this one once the game moved into the middle innings.
Before the game, the Cardinals’ notes also pointed to Lars Nootbaar’s continued progress on his rehab assignment. Nootbaar played all nine innings in left field Friday night for Double-A Springfield, going 0-for-2 with two walks. Through eight rehab games between Springfield, Memphis and Palm Beach, he is batting .286 with two home runs, four RBIs, four walks and a 1.019 OPS.
That is still good news for a Cardinals lineup that could use another left-handed bat. But Saturday night was a reminder that one roster boost alone does not fix everything.
The Cardinals got a competitive start from Leahy, a strong night from Wetherholt, and an early lead. They just did not get enough offense after that.
Against the Cubs, especially at Busch Stadium, that stings a little more.
Final Score
Chicago Cubs 6
St. Louis Cardinals 1
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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