Jack Flaherty, who had looked out of synch for the most part, lasted only three innings in each of his first two starts for the Cardinals after coming off the 60-day injured list. He made it only through two innings on Sunday at Busch Stadium and surely seems headed back to the IL. .
Flaherty, after throwing 49 pitches and having to pitch around two errors, one by himself, came out of the matchup with the Chicago Cubs with right shoulder tightness after hurling two scoreless innings, striking out two and walking two but throwing no fastball harder than 93 mph.
It appeared the Cardinals wouldn’t need him on this day as Brendan Donovan, Paul Goldschmidt and Juan Yepez all hit solo homers in the third inning as the Cardinals mauled Chicago starter Alec Mills. But the 5-0 lead the Cardinals built evaporated in a five-run Chicago fourth inning and the Cubs scored once in the 10th off rookie Zack Thompson for a 6-5 win.
The Cubs captured the three-game series two games to one before another whopping sellout crowd of 44,824. at Busch Stadium. Willson Contreras, who tied the game with a two-run single in the fourth, won it with a single in the 10th off Zack Thompson.
Trifecta of homers pays off handsomely
With Mills already laboring, Donovan followed up his first-inning triple with his third homer of the season to start the third inning on a ball that just cleared the right-field wall. Goldschmidt followed closely with his 18th homer, a drive to left. Mills got two outs—his final two—before Yepez slugged his seventh homer to left. Mills, like Flaherty, a pitcher who recently left the 60-day IL, was replaced by right-hander Matt Swarmer.
A testing second inning for Flaherty
After stranding two runners in the first inning, Flaherty allowed a one-out double to Yan Gomes in the Cubs’ second. Alfonso Rivas grounded to Flaherty, who made a good stab. Gomes had strayed a bit from second and Flaherty winged a low, off-balance throw to second. The ball went into center field and Gomes went to third. Flaherty walked David Bote to load the bases but then struck out Christopher Morel and retired Rafael Ortega on a groundout.
‘Goldy’ not Golden—and then he was
Reigning Gold Glove first baseman Goldschmidt committed his first error of the season in the first inning. It barely could have come on an easier play.
Ian Happ hit a two-out roller to Goldschmidt, which went between his legs. Second baseman Nolan Goran made the pickup and, employing his glove, flipped the ball to Goldschmidt at first but Happ was safe. Goldschmidt committed only two errors all last season.
But, in the fourth inning, when it was all coming apart for the Cardinals, Goldschmidt made a brilliant, unassisted double play to end the inning.
The Cubs had tied the game at 5-5 with five runs in the fourth against Nick Wittgren and Johan Oviedo. Contreras just had driven in two runs with a single and was at first base when Happ grounded sharply to Goldschmidt, who knocked the ball down and was headed for first base. Contreras thought his better shot was in sliding back into first and Goldschmidt shrewdly applied the tag to Contreras, trying for a forceout, and then stepped on the bag to retire Happ.
First-base umpire Chris Conroy initially ruled that Contreras had slid into first safely before the tag. The Cardinals challenged both rulings after an exasperated Goldschmidt, who never says anything to umpires, pleaded his case. Goldschmidt was proven right and the odd double play was completed.
In the seventh inning, Happ hit yet another routine grounder to Goldschmidt. As Goldschmidt prepared to field it, the ball hit the bag and Goldschmidt suddenly had to pluck the ball out of the air and step on the bag at the same time. He did and Happ was out.
But Cubs left fielder Happ got the upper hand in the Cardinals’ seventh. As Goldschmidt bid for a go-ahead double, Happ raced into the corner and made a sliding catch to take away the hit and rally.
Herrera is in the books
A day after his first big-league run batted in broke an eight-inning tie to help the Cardinals to a 5-3 win on Saturday, rookie catcher Ivan Herrera singled to center in the second inning for his first big-league hit. That hit set up the Cardinals’ second run. Herrera singled in the ninth for his second hit.
