Who would win the weekend series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs? Sunday’s game would decide it and it was a classic Cards/Cubs back and forth duel. The Cardinals bats would strike early again and Hunter Dobbins would give St. Louis a solid start, but the Cubs would not go down quietly. Fortunately, the Cardinals power would continue to pour it on.
As JJ Wetherholt goes, so go the Cardinals which was a good thing in the top of the 1st inning when JJ started the game with a ground-rule double. Two batters later, he would be able to casually cross home plate as he watched an Alec Burleson bomb sail 421 feet into the right-centerfield stands for an immediate 2-0 Cardinals lead.
The Cardinals would add another run to that lead in the top of the 2nd inning when Jimmy Crooks hit a two-out double. He would score when Blaze Jordan smacked a single to center that Pete Crow-Armstrong was unable to handle giving St. Louis a 3-0 lead. It’s such a joy to watch PCA mess up anything.
While many of us who faithfully follow the Cardinals enjoy Pete Crow-Armstrong failing, there’s no denying his talent and likely MVP-level season. Hunter Dobbins had not allowed a hit going into the bottom of the 3rd inning when he walked Triantos who entered the game after Dansby Swanson was removed after having left-side discomfort after an errant swing. The old “walks always come back to haunt you” mantra proved true two batters later when Pete Crow-Armstrong proved why he’s the current MVP favorite (and boy it pains me to utter those words) when he destroyed a Hunter Dobbins four-seam fastball into the right field stands cutting the Cardinals lead down to 3-2.
The Cardinals would regain their 3-run lead with an assist by Cubs starter Edward Cabrera in the top of the 4th inning. He walked Masyn Winn and Jimmy Crooks with one out in the Cardinals 4th. Blaze Jordan then snuck a ball past short for a single which loaded the bases. Cabrera couldn’t find the plate with JJ Wetherholt up walking him and gifting the Cardinals a run making it 4-2. Iván Herrera then lifted a sacrifice fly to right scoring Jimmy Crooks to make it 5-2 Cardinals and they weren’t done yet. The Cubs removed the wild Cabrera and brought in Ryan Rolison who Alec Burleson greeted hammering the first pitch he threw into left field for a single that scored both Blaze Jordan and JJ Wetherholt when Ian Happ did a pirouette instead of throwing the ball to home making it 7-2 Cardinals.
But wait, there’s more…
With Alec Burleson on first, Jordan Walker showed he has not lost his Home Run Derby mojo when he waited on a 79 mph curveball and blasted it into the fencing above the centerfield wall for a 2-run shot giving the Cardinals a commanding 9-2 lead. BOOM!
Hunter Dobbins pitched the Cardinals into the bottom of the 6th inning. While his outing was a quality start and overall strong, he walked too many batters Sunday. Hunter walked 4, but only allowed 2 hits and 2 earned runs. over 5 full innings. I’ll take that any game at Wrigley Field. A walk to Alex Bregman to leadoff the Cubs 6th led to his removal from the game by manager Oli Marmol. He was replaced by Luis Gastelum who was tasked with getting the Cardinals closer to the finish line in the middle innings. He pitched out of a two-on jam in the bottom of the 6th to keep the Cubs from cutting into the Cards lead. He would also keep the Chicago bats quiet in the bottom of the 7th also.
St. Louis would enter the land of double digits in the top of the 8th inning when JJ Wetherholt would get his second hit of the day after he beat out an infield single with one out. Iván Herrera walked to give the Cardinals two on with one out. Jordan Walker then blasted a 92 mph cutter off of the right-centerfield wall for a 2-run double increasing the Cardinals dominant Sunday advantage to 11-2.
Gordon Graceffo was the Cardinals bullpen answer for the bottom of the 8th inning. He would surrender a run after Suzuki doubled down the right field line and then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Graceffo. He would score a “who really cares” run when pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 11-3 Cardinals.
The Cardinals had the joy of facing former teammate Carson Kelly who was the Cubs designated position player pitcher. Only Jimmy Crooks managed a single down the right field line as Kelly got flyouts from Church, Winn and Jordan. Caleb Ferguson took care of the Cubs in the bottom of the 9th inning to end what became a laugher for the Cardinals. The most eventful part of the bottom of the 9th inning was the first out which was a fine play by JJ Wetherholt throwing out Michael Conforto which ended up going through a 5-minute ABS challenge. Miguel Amaya did hit a solo home run to make the final score 11-4, but that made more sense than the ridiculously-long challenge call in a game gone out of control. Kudos to Ferguson for not walking anyone. Well done.
The St. Louis Cardinals begin a brutal week where they’ll play 8 games in 7 days as they play a day/night doubleheader Monday in Cincinnati. The first game is scheduled to start at 12:40pm central time as the Reds will start RHP Rhett Lowder. The Cardinals have yet to announce their first starter for Monday. Game broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.