Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 17, Cubs 1
By Rob Rains
In the more than 1,000 games the Cardinals have played at Wrigley Field in the last 110 years, there haven’t been very many like the one they played on Friday.
A three-run homer from Nathan Church in the second inning was just the start of an offensive assault that carried the Cardinals to their second biggest win ever against the Cubs at the corner of Addison and Clark.
The Cardinals’ only margin of victory that was bigger than the 16-run margin on Friday was a 21-3 victory on April 27, 1977.
It was only the fourth time the Cardinals scored 17 or more runs at Wrigley, the first since the Matt Carpenter game on July 20, 2018 when they scored 18 runs.
Masyn Winn and Bryan Torre also homered in the game as the Cardinals had nine players with at least one hit as they pounded out 17 hits. Seven players had at least one RBI.
The beneficiary of the big day by the offense was Andre Pallante, who worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings en route to his 10th victory. The Cardinals lost the bid for the shutout in the seventh inning.
The Cubs, who beat the Padres 23-3 in their previous game on Wednesday, became only the second team in MLB history to win a game by 15 or more runs and then lose their next game by 15 or more runs. The only other time it happened, according to OptaStats, was in 1894.
Here is how Friday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals scored in six consecutive innings from the second through the seventh … Alec Burleson and Winn each drove in four runs … Ivan Herrera and Blaze Jordan each had three hits with Herrera scoring three runs and adding two RBIs … Jordan and Jordan Walker also scored three times each … Torres’ homer came as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, producing the final run … The only Cardinals starter who did not have a hit was Nelson Velazquez, but he had a sacrifice fly and walked twice, including once with the bases loaded … The Cardinals are now averaging 5.63 runs per game in their 41 road games this season (231 runs).
On the mound: Pallante scattered five hits, walked one and struck out two as he became the first Cardinal to win 10 games before the All-Star break since Miles Mikolas in 2018 … The Cubs broke the shutout bid in the seventh when Pedro Ramirez tripled off Max Rajcic and scored on a double by Alex Bregman.
Key stat: Burleson and Winn became the first pair of Cardinals to each drive in four runs in a game at Wrigley since Jim Edmonds and Edgar Renteria did it on June 9, 2004. It was only the second time the Cardinals did that since 1992.
Worth noting: Ryne Stanek returned from paternity leave and pitched the ninth inning … Dustin May was able to avoid the injured list after he was hit by a line drive on the right ankle on Thursday night in Atlanta. He is tentatively scheduled to start one of the games in Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Brewers, but that will depend on how well he recovers before then … Gordon Graceffo was optioned to Memphis to open the roster spot for Stanek … The All-Star rosters are scheduled to be announced before Saturday night’s game.
Up next: Kyle Leahy will get the start in the second game of the series, which is scheduled to begin at 7:08 p.m. on Saturday. It will be televised by Fox.
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