Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 14, Cubs 5
By Rob Rains
Minutes after it was announced that Paul Goldschmidt was voted the NL’s Player of the Month for May, he staked an early claim on the June award.
Goldschmidt’s three-run homer pulled the Cardinals out of an early hole and sparked them to the big win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The blast was his 12th homer of the season and extended his hitting streak to 25 games and his streak of reaching base by either a hit or a walk to 39 consecutive games. The last time he failed to get a hit was May 4, and the last time he did not reach base in a game was on April 21.
The homer was one of five for the Cardinals, their most in a game this season. Corey Dickerson hit his first two of the year. The second was one of two homers hit in the eighth inning off Frank Schwindel, normally a first baseman.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Nolan Gorman hit his third homer in his first 11 games, also a three-run shot, as he served as the DH after sitting out the last three games because of tightness in his back. His homer was the big blow in a five-run fourth inning that broke the game open … Lars Nootbaar also hit his first homer of the year, going back-to-back with Dickerson in the ninth off Schwindel … Nootbaar also had an RBI double … On his 28th birthday, Harrison Bader had two hits, scored twice and stole a base … Tommy Edman stole two bases, and he and Bader are tied for the NL lead with 14 … Ten of the Cardinals’ 14 runs came with two outs.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas got through five innings after allowing a three-run homer to former Cardinal Patrick Wisdom in the first inning. The Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth but Mikolas got out of jam, thanks in part to a double play started by Brendan Donovan, who caught a pop fly in short right and threw out a runner at the plate … Zack Thompson made his major-league debut in relief of Mikolas and worked the final four innings, allowing one run, and earning the save. He gave up one run on three hits, walked one and struck out three … Thompson, the team’s number one draft pick in 2019, became the ninth Cardinal to make his major-league debut this season.
Key stat: Goldschmidt has had 10 homers and 10 doubles in his last 20 games among his 34 hits, dating back to May 13. He had only two homers in his first 30 games of the year.
Worth noting: This was the third consecutive month a Cardinal won the Player of the Month award, following Tyler O’Neill’s win last September and Nolan Arenadio’s victory in April. The last time the same team had three different players win the award in consecutive months was the 1976 Tigers … In a series of roster moves before the game, the Cardinals promoted Thompson and Johan Oviedo from Memphis and optioned Matthew Liberatore and Kodi Whitley to the Triple A team. To open a spot for Thompson on the 40-man roster, infielder Kramer Robertson was designated for assignment … Jake Woodford is expected to be added to the roster as the 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader.
Looking ahead: The day-night doubleheader will have 12:20 and 6:15 p.m. starts, making up one of the games that was postponed because of the lockout during the scheduled first week of the season. Andre Pallante will make his first start in one of the games,with Oviedo starting the other game.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
