CHICAGO — A day after a loss at Wrigley Field that spotlighted what they’re missing, the Cardinals authored a win as complete and thorough as any this season.
They hit three home runs.
They stole three bases.
They had a comeback Friday, scored insurance runs, and along the way Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 25 games, and did so with a clutch home run. The top three spots in the Cardinals’ lineup scored seven runs by the end of the sixth inning. The bottom two spots in the order had scored three by the end of the fourth. Miles Mikolas got through a laborious five innings, but that was enough for a chance to add a dollop of punctuation to a 14-5 victory against the Cubs.
The Cardinals debuted their ninth rookie of the season, and lefty Zack Thompson secured a four-inning save in his first major league appearance.
He also wore No. 57, the number’s first appearance on a Cardinal in a game since June 2002, when the late Darryl Kile wore it. The Cardinals chose Thompson, their first-round draft pick in 2019, as the right player at the right time to bring the number of its memorial hiatus.
A few minutes after Major League Baseball announced that he was the National League’s Player of the Month for May, Goldschmidt continued to work on the June honor. He drilled a three-run homer to right-center field that flipped the game on the Cubs and starter Marcus Stroman. The Cardinals trailed 3-1 before that swing and led, 4-3, after it. Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 25 games, his on-base streak to 39 games.
Both are career highs.
Both are the longest active in the majors.
The Cardinals wasted no time adding onto the lead. Corey Dickerson hit his first home run as a Cardinal to open the fourth inning. Andrew Knizner drove home birthday boy Harrison Bader, but only after Bader stole second to get into scoring position on Stroman (2-5). The winner of a home run derby in high school at Wrigley Field, rookie Nolan Gorman returned to the lineup and launched a deep fly ball into the right-field bleachers to add three more runs to the Cardinals’ lead and five-run fourth inning. Gorman’s third homer of the season traveled 420 feet, coming a few rows shy of leaving the ballpark and ricocheting off Sheffield Avenue.
In the sixth inning, the Cardinals scored thrice more. Tommy Edman stole second base and his second base of the game to get into position for Nolan Arenado’s RBI single.
The steady rhythm of offense and widening of the Cardinals’ lead eventually led to the Cubs turning to designated hitter Frank Schwindel to shoulder the final inning from the mound.
He did not get through it without allowing Dickerson’s second homer of the game, and that was promptly followed by Lars Nootbaar’s first homer of his season.
In his first since throwing a career-high 115 pitches, Mikolas (4-3) had some lengthy and tricky innings, and never had complete control of any of them. Former Cardinals prospect Patrick Wisdom connected for a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to give the Cubs a hearty but fleeting lead. Mikolas did not have an inning without a baserunner, but hopscotched around the rest of them by getting grounders when applicable and strikeouts when available.
There were moments of near-miss dazzlers from third baseman Arenado, and when Mikolas got the game within reach of finishing five innings, the right-hander got the defensive play promised thanks to a curious move by the Cubs. With the bases loaded, Jason Heyward flared Mikolas’ 107th and final pitch to right field. Rookie Brendan Donovan raced to track it down for the catch, and when he turned to check the runner from the third he saw that runner — inexplicably — breaking for home.
Donovan threw to Knizner for the double play, because who wouldn’t?
Thompson worked briskly through the final four innings. He allowed a run in the seventh inning as the one batter he walked that inning came around the score. The lefty also flashed the stuff that makes him a candidate to start or stick in the bullpen over the coming days. He got strikeouts on a 93-mph fastball and a 95-mph fastball, and mixed in a strikeout on a change-up while also getting four called strikes on his curveball.
He had a fastball leave his fingers at 98 mph.
He had a curveball float home at 71 mph.
He had a save when the final out was secure.
