The St. Louis Cardinals returned home to Busch Stadium today looking to gain ground in the NL Central division race as they took on their rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Much was on the line for this afternoon’s contest between the long-time rivals as both teams remained in contention for playoff spots down the stretch of the 2021 season.
The Cardinals entered play sitting just 2.5 games back of the Cincinnati Reds for the second NL Wild Card spot. At 71-68, they were four games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers as well. Every game was crucial if St. Louis hoped to play into October. Facing the Cubs, who sat just above them in the standings at 67-72, only added more importance to getting a victory.
On the mound for St. Louis was veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright. The 40-year-old remained a rock in the Cardinals rotation despite his age. On the year, he boasted a 15-7 record with a 2.89 ERA over 29 starts. Wainwright entered with a history of success against the Cubs as well, owning a 22-15 record and 2.60 ERA in 53 lifetime starts against their NL Central rivals. He was much needed to lead the Cards to a win.
Chicago countered with lefty Justin Steele, who was making his 20th start of the season. The rookie pitcher had made strides lately, going 5-2 with a 2.05 ERA over his previous nine outings. However, Steele had yet to face the Cardinals in 2021. At 4-3 with a 4.26 ERA on the year overall, he was an unknown quantity for St. Louis. Getting to the young hurler early could be key.
The Cardinals wasted no time putting runs on the board against Steele. Leadoff man Tommy Edman smacked a double to left field on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning. After a walk by Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado drove in Edman with a sacrifice fly to center.
In the bottom of the second, St. Louis broke the game open. Juan Yepez launched a two-run dinger into the left field bleachers to make it 3-0. Dylan Carlson and Paul DeJong later added RBI singles of their own to push the lead to 5-0. Steele was chased before recording an out in the third.
Meanwhile, Wainwright cruised through the Cubs lineup. He worked around a pair of two-out singles in the third and fourth innings to keep Chicago off the board. Through five innings of work, the veteran righty had allowed just three hits and no runs while striking out five.
The Cardinals bullpen took over for Wainwright in the sixth after he threw 95 pitches. Jose Quintana and Rowan Wick kept the shutout intact with scoreless frames. In the bottom of the seventh, Nolan Gorman provided some insurance with a two-run jack to left-center, increasing the St. Louis lead to 7-0.
Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos held strong over the final two innings to seal the victory. The Cubs went quietly in order in both frames. When Gallegos got Ian Happ to ground out to end the game, the Cardinals had clinched a 7-0 win in the series opener.
With the shutout victory, St. Louis moved to within 1.5 games of the Reds for the second Wild Card. Wainwright picked up his 16th win after striking out six over six strong innings. The bullpen combined for three hitless innings in relief. Offensively, Edman, Yepez and Gorman each drove in two runs apiece.
The triumph gave the Cardinals momentum as they looked to gain more ground in the playoff race this weekend. Following an off day on Thursday, they will send Jon Lester to the mound on Friday night to face Chicago’s Zach Davies. A series win could pull them even closer in both the division and Wild Card standings with just 15 games left on their regular season schedule.
After dropping two of three in their previous series against the division-leading Brewers, getting back in the win column against the Cubs was a boost the Cardinals desperately needed. With the division and postseason berths still up for grabs, every victory takes on added significance. Momentum is key down the stretch, and St. Louis grabbed a big one by shutting out their rivals on Wednesday afternoon in front of 42,869 fans at Busch Stadium.
