Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Cubs 2
By Rob Rains
Two players the Cardinals hope will be a big part of their future were also there at the right time on Sunday night to give them a win over the Cubs at Busch Stadium.
With two outs and nobody on in the seventh inning of a 2-2 game, Jordan Walker singled, then stole second. Nolan Gorman then came through with a single to right that scored Walker with the go-ahead run.
Walker’s hit came after Cubs starter Shota Imanaga had retired the previous 13 Cardinals in order.
The Cubs tried to rally in both the eighth and ninth innings but fell short. In the eighth, they had runners on first and third with two outs but JoJo Romero got former Cardinal Carson Kelly to ground out to end the inning.
In the ninth, a walk to Ian Happ put the tying run on base but pinch-runner Jon Berti was thrown out trying to steal second. The Cubs then got consecutive singles off Romero to keep the inning alive before Matt Shaw grounded into a game-ending force out.
The Cardinals won two of the three games in the series to move one game above .500 and 3 1/2 games out of the third wildcard spot.
Here is how Sunday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals only had four hits and four baserunners in the game. Thomas Saggese singled to lead off the third and scored on a two-run homer by Pedro Pages, his eighth of the season … Their only other hits were the singles by Walker and Gorman in the seventh, with Gorman’s hit their only hit in two at-bats with a runner in scoring position as he took second on the throw to the plate … Imagana struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings, including getting Willson Contreras and Alec Burleson twice.
On the mound: The rally in the seventh gave the win to Sonny Gray, whose only mistake in his seven innings was a two-run homer by Shaw in the fifth, following an error by Gorman. Gray scattered five hits, walked one and struck out seven in raising his record to 11-5 … Riley O’Brien retired the first two batters in the eighth before a walk. Romero then gave up a single to Kyle Tucker before retiring Kelly. He earned his third save by getting out of the ninth-inning jam.
Key stat: The Cardinals are now 18-6 this season in games started by Gray and 42-53 in games started by any other pitcher.
Worth noting: The start of the game was delayed for 53 minutes because of heavy rain in the afternoon that flooded the hallways near both dugouts … Brendan Donovan was out of the lineup for the second night in a row because of a groin strain. The Cardinals hope he will be able to play on Monday night or at the latest on Tuesday night … Right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala, claimed off waivers from the Red Sox, joined the Cardinals before the game and Gordon Graceffo was optioned to Memphis.
Up next: The Cardinals will open a three-game series against the Rockies on Monday night as the homestand continues. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter.
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