*Photo from TSN*
Division matchups, especially the longtime rivalries, fail to disappoint. Paul Goldschmidt homered, Yadier Molina drove in a trio of runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs with a 8-4 victory on Saturday night in St. Louis.
The Cardinals kept their winning ways going, picking up their 3rd straight win and 7th in 10 games, improving to a 78-55 record. This time around, the Cardinals got most of their offense from the home run, with 3 players going long in this one. They were also aided by 3 big RBI's from Molina.
It was the Cubs who got the scoring started. Franmil Reyes hit an RBI single in the top of the first to make it 1-0, and Rafael Ortega followed that with a two run single, and the lead was 3-0 like that. In the bottom of the first, Goldschmidt provided the response for the Cardinals, hitting a two run home run to make it a 3-2 game.
When the 3rd inning hit, the Cardinals broke out. Tommy Edman and Tyler O'Neill got it started, both hitting solo home runs to put the Cardinals in front by a 4-3 score. With the bases loaded shortly after, Molina stepped up with a 3 run double, making it a 7-3 game. Lars Nootbaar hit a sac fly to make it 8-3, before a 5th inning RBI single from Reyes cut the Cubs deficit to an 8-4 margin.
The battery of Molina and Adam Wainwright was in action again, with Wainwright allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and two walks, getting the win with 5 innings pitched. After he departed, a bullpen combo of Andre Pallante, Jake Woodford, JoJo Romero, and Giovanny Gallegos shut down the Cubs offense.
Wainwright said that "I think Yadier told them, ‘Get this guy out of there because he stinks today.' I knew what my stuff looked like, but it also could have been better if I made a pitch here or there. It wasn’t great, and I understood, but I wanted them to know I could have gone one more. I could have and should have gone six, but we won the game. If you win the game with your pitcher looking like that on the mound, you’ve done something."
Getting the start for the Cubs was Drew Smyly, who got rocked in this one. Smyly was charged with 7 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, lasting just 2 1/3 innings in a loss. Jeremiah Estrada finished the 3rd inning for Smyly, allowing one run. Mark Leiter Jr, Rowan Wick, Erich Uelmen, and Luke Farrell also pitched in relief.
Up next, the Cardinals and Cubs conclude their series on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals will start Miles Mikolas, while the Cubs counter with Marcus Stroman.
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