Sunday’s Game Report: Cubs 13, Cardinals 5
Maybe the Cardinals got in a nice dinner or two. Maybe they had time to go shopping or take a relaxing boat ride on the Chicago River on Sunday morning.
Any of those might have salvaged their trip because when it came to the three games that they played at Wrigley Field, it definitely was a lost weekend for the Cardinals.
The Cubs completed a sweep of the three-game series by pounding the Cardinals on Sunday night, breaking open a close game by scoring 12 runs in their final four innings, six coming off Dominic Leone in the eighth.
That outburst was capped by a grand slam by Kris Bryant, following a grand slam hit by Taylor Davis on Saturday. In their 979 games since 1916 at Wrigley, it’s the first time the Cardinals have ever allowed a grand slam in back to back games.
Starter Adam Wainwright allowed five of the runs in five-plus innings as the Cardinals lost their fourth consecutive game, tying their longest losing streak since Mike Shildt took over as manager last July.
The weekend that began with Kyle Hendricks shutting out the Cardinals on just 81 pitches on Friday ended with the Cubs equaling the most runs they have scored in a game against the Cardinals at Wrigley since they scored 16 runs on April 22, 1980.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had five hits through the first five innings but failed to score, thanks partially to Paul Goldschmidt being thrown out trying to steal second in the first and Matt Carpenter ill-advisedly trying to go from first to third on a single to left in the third and getting cut down … Yadier Molina’s double produced the first two runs in the sixth before the Cardinals got two homers in the ninth, a two-run shot by Paul DeJong followed by Marcell Ozuna’s 11th of the season when they trailed 13-2 … DeJong had three hits while Goldschmidt had his first two hits of the series, singles in his first two at-bats.
On the mound: After Willson Contreras homered in the second, the Cubs increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Wainwright allowed a walk, a triple and a sacrifice fly. He didn’t get anybody out in the sixth, allowing two singles and a two-run double to Anthony Rizzo … Luke Gregerson, activated on Saturday, made his first big-league appearance since last July 25 and allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single while getting two outs in the seventh … The Cubs led 7-2 before Leone gave up the six runs in the eighth, the second time he has allowed six runs in his last four appearances, capped by the grand slam by Bryant.
Key stat: The Cardinals have now allowed 58 home runs in their first 34 games of the season. They did not allow their 58th home run last year until June 15.
Worth noting: Carlos Martinez made his first rehab appearance for Class A Peoria on Sunday night and needed just six pitches, five of them strikes, to get three groundball outs … With Memphis returning home this week it is likely Martinez’s rehab will shift there in the next few days … Playing his first game for Memphis on Sunday in Nashville, Tyler O’Neill hit a pair of two-run homers … Wainwright made his 292nd career start, 249 of which have come with Molina as the starting catcher. That is now the most by a pitcher and catcher combination since Montreal’s Steve Rogers made his 280th start with Gary Carter behind the plate in 1984.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals return home from a 3-4 road trip to host Bryce Harper and the Phillies on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series. Miles Mikolas will get the start for the 7:05 p.m. game.
