LONDON—It started with the Star Spangled Banner and then God Save the King.
Then a local primary school boy yelled into a microphone in an English accent “play ball,” but it’s not clear that the Cardinals got the translation, as they were humbled 9–1 by their biggest rival, the Cubs.
It was billed as the Old Rivalry, New Ground, but it could’ve just as easily been called the Massacre at West Ham as the 54,662 fans in attendance at the London Stadium, the home of the English Premier League’s West Ham, saw the Chicago bring its West Side brand of baseball to London. Lefthander Justin Steele pitched brilliantly, and eight of the nine starters recorded a hit for a 14-hit barrage, mostly against Adam Wainwright.
