Cardinals Hammer Cubs, Take Series at Wrigley

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinals Hammer Cubs, Take Series at Wrigley
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals did not need another historic afternoon from Joshua Báez.

They had the rest of the lineup for that.

One day after Báez authored one of the greatest debuts in Major League Baseball history, the Cardinals came back Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field and did something almost as important.

They won the series.

St. Louis beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-4, using a 13-hit attack, four RBIs from Alec Burleson, four more from Jordan Walker, a strong enough start from Hunter Dobbins, and the kind of early pressure that never let the Cubs settle into the game.

Saturday was history.

Sunday was business.

And for the Cardinals, that combination made for one very good weekend in Chicago.

The Cardinals dropped Friday’s opener, 3-0, in a game where Matthew Liberatore pitched well but received no support. Báez changed the entire tone Saturday with three home runs in his major league debut, powering St. Louis to an 8-4 win.

Then Sunday, the Cardinals made sure the weekend did not stop with one unforgettable moment.

They finished the job.

St. Louis jumped in front immediately in the first inning. JJ Wetherholt reached ahead of Burleson, and Burleson did what he has done all season: produce. He drove a two-run homer to right field, giving the Cardinals a quick 2-0 lead and putting Chicago starter Edward Cabrera under pressure before the Cubs ever came to bat.

That mattered.

After being shut out Friday, the Cardinals spent the final two games of the series looking like a completely different offense. Saturday was driven by Báez. Sunday was more balanced and, in some ways, even more encouraging.

The Cardinals added another run in the second. Jimmy Crooks reached, and Blaze Jordan singled to center to bring him home, stretching the lead to 3-0.

That gave Dobbins some early room, and for a pitcher who has been on the wrong end of too many low-support starts lately, the cushion had to feel different.

The Cubs did answer in the third.

James Triantos reached, and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run homer to right field, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2. Wrigley Field had life, and the Cubs had a chance to pull the game back into their style.

The Cardinals shut that down in the fourth.

That inning turned the game from competitive to controlled.

Masyn Winn walked, Crooks singled, and Blaze Jordan reached to load the bases. Wetherholt drew a walk to force in Winn and make it 4-2. Iván Herrera followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Crooks and pushing the lead to 5-2.

Then Burleson came through again.

With two runners aboard, he singled to left, bringing home Wetherholt and Jordan. The Cardinals led 7-2, and Cabrera’s day was almost done.

Walker made sure there was no escape.

He came up later in the inning and launched a two-run homer to center field, scoring Burleson and giving St. Louis a 9-2 lead.

Six runs in the fourth.

A seven-run lead.

A series sitting firmly in the Cardinals’ hands.

That is how a team takes control.

The Cardinals did not wait for one swing. They built the inning. Walks. Singles. Sacrifice fly. Two-run single. Two-run homer. Several different hitters doing their part, one after another, until the inning became too much for Chicago to survive.

That was the difference.

Cabrera lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and three walks. Ryan Rolison came in and gave up Walker’s homer, and by the time the fourth inning ended, the Cubs were chasing a game that had already tilted hard toward St. Louis.

Dobbins did not make it perfect, but he made it work.

He went five innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He walked four and struck out seven. The walks kept him from working deeper into the game, but he missed bats, limited damage, and kept the Cubs from putting together the kind of inning they needed to get back into it.

The Crow-Armstrong homer was the only real damage against him.

After that, Dobbins protected the lead and handed the game to the bullpen with the Cardinals still in complete control.

Luis Gastelum took it from there and gave St. Louis two important scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, struck out three and kept the Cubs from building any late momentum. That bridge mattered, especially with the Cardinals already holding a big lead and looking to avoid unnecessary late-inning drama.

The Cardinals added two more in the eighth.

Wetherholt and Herrera reached, and Walker drove a double to deep right field, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to 11-2. It was Walker’s fourth RBI of the afternoon and another strong statement from a bat that has become one of the most important in the Cardinals’ lineup.

The Cubs scratched across a run in the eighth on Tyrone Taylor’s sacrifice fly after Seiya Suzuki doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch. Chicago added one more late, but the game had long since been decided.

The Cardinals had already done the damage.

Burleson finished 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Walker went 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs. Wetherholt reached three times, scored three runs and drove in one. Herrera drove in a run and scored. Crooks had two hits and scored twice. Blaze Jordan had two hits, drove in a run and scored.

That is a winning box score.

Báez, after Saturday’s historic three-homer debut, went hitless Sunday. That is going to happen. Baseball has a way of reminding everyone that yesterday’s legend still has to take today’s at-bats.

But the best part for the Cardinals was that Báez did not have to carry them again.

Burleson picked him up.

Walker picked him up.

Wetherholt set the table.

Crooks and Jordan extended innings.

The lineup looked deeper.

That is the larger point.

One historic debut can create a spark. A full lineup doing damage can turn that spark into something more useful. Sunday’s win showed the Cardinals did not need Báez to hit three more home runs to beat the Cubs. They needed the offense to keep moving.

It did.

The Cardinals finished the weekend by taking two of three at Wrigley Field, and that carries weight. This was not just another road series. This was the Cubs. This was August. This was a team the Cardinals are trying to chase. This was the kind of weekend that could have turned ugly after Friday’s shutout.

Instead, St. Louis answered with 19 runs over the final two games.

More importantly, the Cardinals took the series.

They hit. They pitched well enough. They made Chicago chase. They turned Saturday’s emotion into Sunday’s execution.

That is how a club builds something.

There are still questions. There are still standings to climb. There is still a long road between being alive and being dangerous.

But this weekend at Wrigley gave the Cardinals something they badly needed.

A historic moment.

A series win.

And a lineup that suddenly looks a lot harder to pitch through.

Cardinals 11, Cubs 4.

Saturday belonged to Báez.

Sunday belonged to the lineup.

The Cardinals took the series at Wrigley.

That’s a winner.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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Photo Credit: Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB