Cardinals laugh off big deficit, top Cubs
St. Louis falls behind 5-0 in first inning, but chips away
ST. LOUIS — The odds were not with the St. Louis Cardinals before Monday night’s game, and were even less in their favor after starting pitcher Carlos Martinez put them in a 5-0 hole before they even went to the bat rack.
But the Cardinals continue to display that no margin is too difficult to overcome and no obstacle is too tough to climb.
With a heavily taxed bullpen somehow supplying 5 1/3 effective innings, St. Louis chipped away at a game-long deficit and finally overtook the Chicago Cubs with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh inning that led to St. Louis’ crazy 10-9 win at Busch Stadium.
Backup catcher Tony Cruz supplied the game-winning hit, pulling a two-run double past diving third baseman Kris Bryant to snap an 8-8 deadlock. It made a winner of reliever Miguel Socolovich (20), who pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up his second win in as many days.
“This is ridiculous,” Cardinals first baseman Mark Reynolds said. “We’re never out of it. We just kept playing the game, chipping away.”
Reynolds was a big part of the comeback. His fourth career grand slam in the bottom of the first against starter Travis Wood chopped the deficit from five runs to one, and he also started a tworun sixth with a single.
Second baseman Kolten Wong slapped two RBI singles, the second one scoring shortstop Jhonny Peralta to forge the tie that Cruz promptly broke. Right fielder Jason Heyward reached base three times, going 2-for-4 and scoring twice.
After Martinez allowed nine hits and seven runs in 3 2/3 innings with four walks and four strikeouts, long reliever Carlos Villanueva settled things down with 2 1/3 effective innings. Matt Belisle worked around two walks in the eighth, and Seth Maness picked up his second save despite yielding a two-out solo homer to shortstop Addison Russell.
Over the last five games of its seven-game winning streak, the Cardinals’ bullpen has worked a staggering 27 1/3 innings, thanks to two short starts and three extra-inning games.
Yet St. Louis (19-6) owns the best record in baseball and the best start in franchise history.
“It wasn’t what we expected or were hoping for,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of the top of the first inning. “But the mood never changed. They just came back. They just trusted the next man up.”
Meanwhile, Chicago (13-11) absorbed its third straight loss de- spite a 12-hit attack that included three RBIs from catcher Miguel Montero and a solo homer from first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Bryant, a Bonanza High product, reached base in all five plate appearances, drawing four walks.
But the offensive fireworks couldn’t overcome Wood, who gave up six runs on six hits and two walks in five-plus innings, or a bullpen that blew up in the seventh. Pedro Strop (0-2) ate the loss, giving up three runs without recording an out.
“We played really well, we just didn’t pitch well,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “We worked atbats, we got their starter out of the game. It wasn’t one of our better pitching nights, that’s all.”