The Cubs jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second inning and held on for an 8-5 win over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-1. Kris Bryant drove in two runs and Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-4 with an RBI as Chicago split the weather-shortened two-game series. Jon Lester struck out seven while allowing just two hits and an unearned run in six frames to move to 2-and-0. Brandon Morrow posted his third save.
Luke Weaver took the loss. Jedd Gyorko had two of St. Louis' five hits in defeat.
The Houston Astros will try to increase their winning streak to
four games when they visit the Chicago White Sox on Friday to open
a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Houston (13-7) is coming off a series win over the Seattle Mariners
in which it won the last three games of a four-game set. Through 20
games, the defending World Series champions have outscored
opponents 88-55 for a plus-33 run differential.
Now, the Astros will try to keep the good times rolling with ace
right-hander Justin Verlander (2-0, 1.35 ERA) on the mound for the
series opener. The 35-year-old has shined since arriving from
Detroit last season and needs 10 more victories to join the 200-win
club.
In 26 2/3 innings this year, Verlander has 34 strikeouts compared
with five walks. He has limited opponents to no earned runs in two
starts, one earned run in another start and three earned runs in
his so-called worst performance of 2018.
Verlander is no stranger to pitching on Chicago's South Side from
his years in the American League Central. In 42 career starts
against the White Sox, he is 20-13 with a 3.82 ERA. He has logged
285 innings against Chicago, which trails only Cleveland (324 2/3
innings) and Kansas City (307 innings) for opposing teams that
Verlander has faced the most.
Chicago (4-11) expected to counter with veteran right-hander James
Shields (1-1, 4.50 ERA), but a marathon 14-inning game against the
Oakland Athletics on Wednesday forced the team to adjust on the
fly. White Sox manager Rick Renteria summoned Shields to be the
team's 10th pitcher in the 14th inning, but he gave up the
game-winning hit on his 28th pitch.
Now, Renteria and his staff must regroup to determine who will
start Friday night. The club had the day off Thursday and did not
meet with reporters to discuss its plan.
However, Renteria insisted the 12-11 loss in 14 innings was not a
wasted effort. The nearly six-hour game featured Yoan Moncada's
first career grand slam and several other highlights.
"You can bleep it, but my (bleeping) guys showed a lot of (courage)
today in this loss," Renteria said to reporters after the game, as
reported by The Athletic. "They're going to end up winning more
games because of the way they went about their business today in
the long run than they might imagine."
Only a few seasons ago, the Astros found themselves at a rebuilding
stage similar to the White Sox today. Houston now has the look and
feel of a perennial contender with a deep starting rotation and a
dangerous lineup.
One Houston contributor, closer Ken Giles, might not be available
for Friday's series opener. Giles has battled recent back
tightness, but the team has decided not to place him on the 10-day
disabled list.
"As it grows a little bit longer, we don't want him to miss too
much time," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said to the Houston
Chronicle. "Right now, we don't think it is, but right now given
that he can't move around and do the things that he normally does,
it's a little concerning. But we haven't talked DL yet."
The White Sox shuffled their roster today as they traded
infielder Tyler Saladino to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash
considerations and acquired outfielder Trayce Thompson from the
Oakland Athletics, also for cash considerations.
Thompson started his career with the White Sox in 2015 and is a
.232 (96-for-414) hitter with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs in 154 games.
Friday's game can be heard on Good Time Oldies 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at 6:35.
