St. Louis Cardinals: Series Recap Against the Chicago Cubs

The St. Louis Cardinals were able to put the finishing touches to a series win against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday with a 5-0 victory. The series offered plenty of takeaways as the Cardinals get set for an off day on Monday.

After the loss on Friday night to the Cubs, many fans began wondering if the St. Louis Cardinals were going to revert back to their old ways from the beginning of the season. Fortunately, for both the fans and the team, the Cardinals were able to manage a series win against the division rivals.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the losers in Game One, but picked up wins in games Two and Three. I believe this is a bold statement from the team, and it’s something I’ll touch on later. But, this series win is exactly the kind of baseball you want to see from the Cardinals. If the Cardinals stay hot, then there won’t be much to stop them against some of their opponents coming up.

Earlier last week I looked at the schedule for May and marked this series as the most important for the Cardinals to date. In fact, I actually thought the Cardinals were going to lose two of the three games against the Cubs. To make me feel even more foolish, the Cardinals lost the game I thought they would win. In turn, they won the two games I thought they would lose.

Sometimes that’s how it works in baseball. Perhaps the loss on Friday gave the Cardinals an adrenaline boost and prepared them to do battle on Saturday and Sunday. But, I shouldn’t downplay Friday’s loss too much because they easily could have won if not for a certain pitcher’s problem.

What really matter is, is that the Cardinals played good baseball this weekend. They limited mistakes and controlled the game from a pitching stand point. This is going to be important for the Cardinals because the rest of May is only going to get tougher.

It’s important to remember the opponents the Cardinals have left in May. They still have to face the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers twice, the San Francisco Giants, and the Boston Red Sox. Keeping this winning momentum heading into the series against Boston is crucial for the team as they head down the home stretch of a very difficult May.

For now, though, let’s recap the Cardinals series against the Cubs and see what are the takeaways from each game and the series altogether.

Game 1: Chicago 3-St. Louis Cardinals 2

In what was supposed to be a win for the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, turned into a flashback to the beginning of the season very quickly. Bad base running. Bad pitching. Stagnant offense. To make matters even worse, the Cardinals handed Cubs pitcher, Eddie Butler, his first win in almost a year.

WP: Eddie Butler

LP: Mike Leake

S: Wade Davis

The Cubs used the long ball to give Butler a nice cushion as he cruised through six innings of two hit ball. The star of the night for the Cubs, though, was their young catcher, Wilson Contreras. Contreras hit two home runs in his first two at bats against Mike Leake. Both homer runs were solo shots, so Leake did well to keep the damage to a minimum.

However, Contreras also almost cost the Cubs the game.

With a runner on second base, Kolten Wong struck out on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. The pitch escaped Contreras just enough to rush a seemingly easy throw. The throw sailed on Contreras and the ball ended up in shallow right, allowing Randall Grichuk to score from second. Wong was able to advance to second on the play, but Wade Davis closed the door on the Cardinals.

However, you can’t overlook Contreras’ pick off of Dexter Fowler in the 7th inning. With runners on first and second, Contreras threw behind Fowler and nabbed him to end the scoring threat for the Cardinals. It was a great throw and great vision to nab Fowler. Remember that bad base running comment?

So what are the big takeaways from Game One?

Mike Leake continues to pitch well for the St. Louis Cardinals. His final line was 6 innings pitched, two earned runs, three walks, and five strike outs. This outing turned out to be his seventh quality start in seven tries this season for the Cardinals. It’s a little disappointing that the Cardinals were not able to score much for him.

Then one thing that I noticed from Leake’s performance was that he kept some balls up in the zone. The three walks stand out a bit, seeing as how well he has been able to control them. However, Leake did an excellent job of controlling those situations. He gave up two solo home runs and kept the game close.

My next take away was the stagnant offense.

It seems like the Cardinals really, really struggle when they face an unknown guy. It’s understandable at times, but, as I mentioned earlier, the guy had not won in almost a year. Plus, he had a six plus ERA going into this start.  The frustration from Cardinals fans is also understandable.

The Cardinals managed two get two hits off Butler, which were infield singles by Aledmys Diaz. The only other hits were Randal Grichuk’s home run in the seventh and Yadier Molina‘s single in the ninth. With the return of Dexter Fowler it’s interesting to see how Mike Matheny constructed his lineup. Even with Leake’s performance, the offense couldn’t muster any fight.

However, there was one last takeaway from this game that really had me upset.

Brett Cecil was brought on to be a left handed specialist and so far has disappointed in the twenty games he has appeared in for the Cardinals. He sports a whopping 5.79 ERA and has given up three home runs in the twenty games. To put that into perspective for you, last year he gave up six home runs in fifty-four games. Yeah, no thanks.

But, wait it gets worse. The home run Cecil gave up was to none other than Tommy La Stella (with respects to La Stella). La Stella, who hadn’t hit a home run in however long, was able to hit a home run off Cecil in the seventh inning. What’s that you ask? Why yes, he is left handed.

Game Two: Chicago 3-St. Louis Cardinals 5

After a painful Game One, the St. Louis Cardinals were able to put many at ease with a solid performance in Game Two. It all started with the man on the mound, Carlos Martinez. El Gallo went toe-to-toe with Jon Lester on Saturday and out dueled the Chicago starter for his third consecutive win of the season.

WP: Carlos Martinez

LP: Jon Lester

S: Seung-hwan Oh

You never like it when the opposing pitcher knocks in a run, especially if it’s Jon Lester. When he drove in the first run of the game with a towering double to center, my first thought was, “oh boy.” However, Martinez was able to keep the Cubs from scoring for the next four innings until Ian Happ hit his first homer of his big league career.

The final line on Martinez’s day was 6.2 innings pitched, three earned runs, four walks, and seven strike outs. The Cardinals needed a solid performance from him, and that’s what they got. It helped that the Cardinals were able to respond right away in the bottom of third with a bunt from Martinez to score Tommy Pham.

The Cardinals were able to score the next four runs of the game. Jedd Gyorko continued his power stroke by hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning. Tommy Pham then drove in two RBI with a single in the fourth and then a double in the 6th. Magneuris Sierra drove in the final Cardinal run in the bottom of the sixth on a single to center.

Oh came into the ninth to put the game away. Although, I did hold my breath after Kyle Schwarber made contact with the ball. Initially I thought he hit it out. If you weren’t watching the game, the call on the radio didn’t really make you feel any better. However about five to six feet away from the wall, Dexter Fowler made the catch to seal the game.

So what are the big takeaways from Game Two?

I’ll start with Martinez on this one. Even though he gave up four walks in the game, Martinez was able to keep the Cubs scoreless for four straight innings. He limited any damage after walks and was able to pile on some strike outs. He again contributed with an RBI in the win after his performance against the Marlins last week.

In our first Redbird Rants Podcast episode, Martinez’s control was a topic of discussion. Prior to Saturday’s game, Martinez only issued three walks in his last two starts. His four on Saturday, while not damaging, raised a few eyebrows. I’d say don’t worry about it since no damage was done because of the walk, but I’d be lying.

His next start will come against the Giants, so look for him to improve on Saturday’s performance.

Related Story: Redbird Rants Podcast Ep. 1

The next take away from Saturday’s game is the continued success of Tommy Pham and Magneuris Sierra. In our second Redbird Rants Podcast episode we highlighted the success these two players are having now for the Cardinals. It seems neither of them are really wanting to go back down to the minors.

Tommy Pham is playing with a chip on his shoulder and it is causing many people to take notice. After Saturday’s two-hit game, Pham was batting .387. He contributed two more RBI in the win and now has eight RBI in twelve games. He certainly is making a case to stay on the team and if he continues to play like this, the Cardinals will have an interesting decision to make in the near future.

There is something about Magneuris Sierra that just seems right for the St. Louis Cardinals. He has gone far above anyone’s expectations for him in his short stint with the team so far. He had another two-hit game for the Cardinals and is batting .400 through eight games.

What makes him attractive to a team like the Cardinals is the speed and defense. So while the offensive production is nice, his speed and defense could be game changers for the Cardinals in the future.

Do I expect either of them to continue their torrid starts? No, but they will compete. As I said, Pham is playing with a chip on his shoulder and Sierra really has nothing to lose. He has proven he can play at this level, so it’s only a matter of time til he is with the team full time.

However, I wonder if Sierra’s stint is serving as an audition for a future trade. I’d hate to see it happen, but if there is something available for the right price…

Last takeaway from Game Two is beating Jon Lester. The St. Louis Cardinals were able to run on Lester and keep him from turning in a quality start for the Cubs.

Why is this important? The Cardinals are set to face Clayton Kershaw twice in the next two weeks. The at-bats taken on Saturday are important to look at heading into a match up with the best pitcher in baseball. Speaking of said match up, Mike Leake versus Kershaw on May 24th sounds fun.