Thursday’s Game Report: Cubs 3, Cardinals 0
By Rob Rains
Winning the first two games of this four-game series against the division-leading Cubs left the Cardinals excited about what could happen the next two days.
It turned out to be a major letdown.
The Cardinals failed to score in either game, including getting only three hits on Thursday, as the Cubs came back to earn a split of the series at Busch Stadium. That left the NL Central standings exactly where they were when the Cubs came to town on Monday, with the Cardinals trailing the Cubs by 4 ½ games.
The back-to-back shutouts marked the first time the Cubs had done that to the Cardinals in St. Louis since June 9-10, 1984.
The Cardinals were able to hold on and win Tuesday night’s game despite failing to score in the final four innings and they ended the series mired in a streak of being shutout for 22 consecutive innings.
Over those innings, the Cardinals were held to nine hits and had only one runner reach third base.
Here is how Thursday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals’ only hit through the first seven innings was a first-inning infield single by Masyn Winn … The only other runner to reach base against Shota Imanaga in his five innings of work was Willson Contreras on a two-out walk in the fourth … Their other hits were a one-out single in the eighth by Garrett Hampson, making his second consecutive start in center field, and a leadoff double by Alec Burleson in the ninth. Contreras was then hit by a pitch, bringing the potential tying run to the plate with no outs, but Nolan Arenado and Thomas Saggese struck out swinging and Nolan Gorman took a called third strike to end the game.
On the mound: Andre Pallante allowed seven hits and two runs over five innings. He also walked two and struck out only two of the 23 hitters he faced. One of the walks, to Ian Happ, came with the bases loaded … Pallante has won only one of his last seven starts dating back to May 16, going 1-2 with four no-decisions in that stretch … The final Cubs run was charged to JoJo Romero after he was relieved by Kyle Leahy following a leadoff single in the eighth.
Key stat: This was the fourth time in the Cardinals 20 seasons at Busch Stadium 3 that they have been shut out in consecutive games. The last time was on July 7-8, 2022 against the Phillies. The other two times were in 2015 against the Reds and in 2014, one game against the Giants and one against the Royals.
Worth noting: Lars Nootbaar did not play in the last two games after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection in his ribs, an issue that apparently had been bothering him for several days. The Cardinals hope he will be able to play on Friday … Early-season MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs was 5-of-16 in the four games and scored twice but did not drive in a run …The three hits were the fewest by the Cardinals in a game against the Cubs in St. Louis since Sept. 14, 2016.
Up next: The Cardinals head out for a nine-game, 10-day three city road trip that will begin on Friday night with the first of three games against the Guardians in Cleveland. Sonny Gray is the scheduled starter. The game will be televised exclusively by Apple TV. The trip also includes three games in Pittsburgh before seeing the Cubs again, at Wrigley Field, with that series beginning on July 4.
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