Cardinals first to 50 wins after dominant performance against Cubs
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The St. Louis Cardinals became the first team to 50 wins this season with an 8-1 blowout victory against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. No one else is particularly close, either, with the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals checking in next at 43 wins.
The Cardinals reached 50 wins in their 74th game, which is the first time that’s happened since the 2005 Chicago White Sox. If you recall, that team went on to win a World Series championship.
It’s a remarkable pace, especially considering the injuries to Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and others, but par for the course given the Cardinals recent history.
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Focusing on Saturday’s win, it was a complete effort. Starting pitcher Michael Wacha set the pace, tossing six innings of one-run ball. He struck out five and allowed six hits. Carlos Villanueva took it from there, picking up the rare three-inning save. He struck out three.
Offensively, St. Louis received at least one hit from all nine starters. Xavier Scruggs led the way with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Jason Heyward reached base four times and scored twice.
With the win, St. Louis now owns an eight-game lead over Pittsburgh. That’s the largest margin in MLB. At 39-34, the Cubs are 10 1/2 games behind.
CLAYTON KERSHAW LOSES THIRD STRAIGHT DECISION
Though the headline is factual, it’s also a bit deceiving. Clayton Kershaw may have lost his third straight decision on Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 3-2 to the Miami Marlins, but he was still Clayton Kershaw.
In seven innings of work, the Dodgers ace allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits. He struck out nine and walked none, bringing his three-game K/BB ratio to 28/3. In fact, Kershaw’s notched at least nine strikeouts in five straight starts, which is the longest streak of his career. It just wasn’t enough, because he didn’t get enough support.
Over his last three outings, the Dodgers have scored a total of seven runs. Granted, during some Kershaw stretches that would be plenty good enough for a couple wins or even three. But they certainly aren’t in sync right now.
Credit Marlins right-hander Tom Koehler for Saturday’s performance. He allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. Also credit Miam’s double play combo of Adeiny Hechavarria and Dee Gordon for this gem.
Wow is right.
The Giancarlo Stantonless stretch is off to a better start than expected, but we’re guessing they’ll miss him again sooner than later.
TORII HUNTER HITS PAIR OF HOMERS FOR TWINS
Torii Hunter’s 1,300th game in a Minnesota Twins uniform was anything but bad luck. The soon-to-be 40-year-old outfielder had a monster day at the plate, homering twice and doubling in a 5-2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
”How do you get 1,300 and you’re only 29?” Hunter said with a big laugh. ”In dog years, yes.”
Hunter made his major-league debut with Minnesota as a pinch-runner on Aug. 22, 1997. His first stint with Minnesota lasted through the 2007 season, when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels. Overall, he’s appeared in 2,188 games. Eighteen of them have been multi-homer games.
The Twins also got production from Brian Dozier, who reached base three times. Kyle Gibson picked up the win with 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
MOTHER NATURE WINS THE DAY
There was a lot of good baseball played on Saturday, but only Mother Nature can claim four victories.
That’s right, four games were impacted by rain, including the Reds-Mets battle at Citi Field in New York. That game was suspended after six innings with the game tied at 1. They’ll resume in the seventh inning at 1:10 p.m. ET. Rookie Steven Matz will make his major league debut in the regularly scheduled game for New York.
Down the road in Philadelphia, the Nationals and Phillies were postponed after playing an inning and a half, which didn’t sit well with Nats’ manager Matt Williams.
The pitcher they burned was Gio Gonzalez, who also wasn’t very happy.
They will play two on Sunday afternoon and Gio Gonzalez will not be available.
Elsewhere, the White Sox-Tigers and Indians-Orioles games were also postponed. The former will be made up on Sept. 21, while the O’s host a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.
Mother Nature permitting, of course.
Want to see more from Saturday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
