22 July, 2017
Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking two-run double in St. Louis' nine-run eighth, and the Cardinals cooled off the Chicago Cubs 11-4 on Friday night.
However, St. Louis battled back over the next two innings to tie up the game. Taijuan Walker (6-4, 3.61) gets the ball for the Diamondbacks against Reds rookie Luis Castillo (1-2, 3.41).
Cubs starter Jake Arrieta went six innings, giving up two runs and five hits, while Ben Zobrist had three hits and Wilson Contreras homered for Chicago. Tommy Pham's two-run single made it 11-3 before Dexter Fowler bounced into a double play, ending a string of 11 consecutive batters reaching safely to begin the inning. Carlos Martinez dazzled in his two innings in the All-Star Game then pitched seven innings, allowing two runs, against the Pirates on Sunday. Hector Rondon walked Jedd Gyorko, tying it at 3, and DeJong made it 5-3.
"I think we really kind of dodged the bullet right there", manager Joe Maddon said. Bullpen woes continue to plague the Cardinals, as three of their four losses since the All-Star break have come from walk-off hits by the opposition.
"I've never been a part of something like that - to score nine runs with no outs", said DeJong, who slugged a ground-rule double into the center-field ivy.
Fiers threw 105 pitches over seven innings.
Randal Grichuk had a solo home run, his 10th.
Martinez left for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh and was replaced by left-hander Zach Duke, making his season debut after being called up from the 60-day disabled list on the heels of Tommy John surgery following the 2016 season. And kept going, and going, and going. "You've just got to ride it".
Will the Cardinals pull off another upset versus the Cubs this afternoon when the two teams meet at 4:05PM ET at Wrigley? The Chicago stop is the finale of a 10-game road trip for the Cardinals that included stops in Pittsburgh and at the New York Mets.
Wainwright (11-5, 5.08 ERA) makes his 20th start of the season and 274th of his career in Saturday's middle game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The one concern for the Cubs is that last year's NL MVP, third baseman Kris Bryant, left Wednesday's game after he hurt his finger sliding headfirst into a base. He's also likely to miss Saturday.
St. Louis managed to send every one of their players across the plate in the 8th before recording a single out, absolutely crushing Chicago in the end.