Cardinals fall 13-5 on Sunday, swept out of Wrigley

With a loss on Sunday night at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals have dropped their fourth game in a row, as the Cubs completed a three-game sweep in the teams’ first meeting of the season. The Cubs’ 13-5 victory extends their winning streak to seven, and Chicago now holds a half-game lead over St. Louis in the National League Central division.

The Cardinals and Cubs matched each other in the hit column with 12 apiece, and Chicago committed four errors. Nine of St. Louis’s hits were singles, while the Cubs enjoyed five doubles, a triple, and two homers.

Willson Contreras hit a solo homer in the second inning, and the Cubs’ scored two more runs in the fifth on a Contreras walk, Jason Heyward triple, and David Bote sacrifice fly. The Cardinals cut the Cubs’ lead down to 3-2 in the sixth, with Yadier Molina’s two-out, two-run double off Jose Quintana. It was the only notable blemish for Quintana, yet his night ended after the inning. Quintana allowed eight hits; Molina’s double was the only extra-base hit.

Chicago knocked Adam Wainwright out of the game in the sixth inning and scored three in the frame, highlighted by Anthony Rizzo’s two-run double. Wainwright was charged with five runs in five innings. John Gant entered in relief of Wainwright and recorded all three outs of the sixth inning before Luke Gregerson made his season debut in the seventh. Albert Almora greeted Gregerson with a double and scored on a single from Ben Zobrist to put the Cubs up 7-2.

For good measure, the Cubs put up six more runs in the eighth inning, capped off with Kris Bryant’s grand slam to give Chicago an 11-run lead. The Cardinals were able to end the game on a positive (I’m not sure if this is the best word) note with two homers in the ninth off Tyler Chatwood, including a two-run shot from Paul DeJong and a solo blast off Marcell Ozuna’s bat. It was a three-hit game for DeJong, who upped his batting average to .336 with a 3-for-4 night.

The Cubs will open a four-game series with the Marlins at Wrigley on Monday night, while the Cardinals will return to Busch Stadium and begin a series with the Phillies. Miles Mikolas will take the mound at 7:05 PM Central time in the first of three games.