The Walk Off: Cardinals complete rare series sweep at Wrigley Field
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
After pulling off two one-run victories to open the series, history and logic did not favor the St. Louis Cardinals completing the three-game series sweep on Wednesday afternoon in Chicago.
That’s because St. Louis had not swept a three-game series at Wrigley Field since 1988. They were also facing perhaps the most dominant starting pitcher in MLB over the last 15 months in Jake Arrieta. They were coming off a homestand in which they lost all five games to Houston and Texas. Oh, and you’ve probably heard the 2016 Chicago Cubs have been on fire all season, posting a 47-20 record while holding a 12 1/2–game lead over the Cardinals coming into this series.
None of that seemed to bother the Cardinals though. Instead, they proved they could hang with Chicago by not only winning those first two games, but by completing the unexpected sweep with a 7-2 win.
Michael Wacha outdueled Arrieta by allowing just two runs over 6 2/3 innings. That was good enough to earn his first win in nearly two months. Meanwhile, Arrieta allowed just two runs (one earned) over five innings. The Cubs bullpen then ensured Arrieta would pick up just his second loss since July 25, 2015.
St. Louis got its two against Arrieta on a Ben Zobrist throwing error when attempting to complete a 5-4-3 double play. The runs were cheap, but St. Louis forced Arrieta to throw 106 pitches to get 15 outs, so they also earned the breaks that followed. They then teed off on Chicago’s bullpen, scoring five in the sixth inning. That was keyed by an Aledmys Diaz two-run homer and Matt Carpenter’s two-run double.
Obviously, the Cardinals have a long climb ahead of them if they hope to catch Chicago, but this series reminds how dangerous they can be when they’re playing well. It may not ultimately impact the standings, but it could be remembered if they meet again in October.
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TOP PERFORMERS
The Cleveland Indians: This team has become unstoppable at home, which isn’t surprising considering they’re drawing inspiration from Jobu and the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers. With Wednesday’s 6-1 win against the Rays, the Indians have now won 11 straight at home and have extended their AL Central lead to three games over the Royals. Trevor Bauer went the distance here, allowing just three hits while striking out 10 and walking one. Offensively, Jason Kipnis delivered the biggest blow, smashing a two-run homer in the first inning.
Adam Conley: The Atlanta Braves had won six straight games, including games started by Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob deGron and Jose Fernandez. Conley put an end to that though, holding them scoreless over eight innings in a Marlins 3-0 win. He allowed four hits while striking out four to even his record at 4-4.
Mark Trumbo: It was a historic night for the Baltimore Orioles, as their 7-2 win against the Padres marked the franchise’s 1,000th win at Camden Yards. Leading the way was Trumbo, who collected three hits in the game. The veteran slugger also connected for his 21st home run, which ties him for the league lead. He would be a difficult guy to leave off the AL All-Star roster.
Melky Cabrera: The Melkman picked up four hits, including a game-tying home run in the eighth inning, as the White Sox knocked off the Red Sox 8-6. Cabrera finished a triple shy of the cycle. He also doubled once and singled twice, while driving in four runs. The White Sox have now won the first three in the series, and will go for a four-game sweep on Thursday.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Starlin Castro got the last word in a wild, back-and-forth game against the Rockies, delivering a walk-off homer in the ninth to win it 9-8. New York started the scoring with a Chase Headley grand slam, then watched Colorado score eight unanswered to take the lead. New York tied it with four in the seventh.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Mets 4, Royals 3: The Mets get a win, but it wasn’t all good news as Noah Syndergaard was forced to leave with elbow discomfort.
Astros 3, Angels 2: Houston completes a much-needed three-game sweep to improve to 37-36. It’s the first they’ve been over .500 since winning their season opener on April 5.
Brewers 4, A’s 2: Milwaukee got a quality start from rookie Junior Guerra, who improved to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 3.67 with seven innings of two-run ball.
Blue Jays 5, Diamondbacks 2: Toronto snapped a five-game losing streak behind a trio of home runs. Russell Martin’s three-run shot in the first proved to be enough, but Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki added solo homers in the sixth for insurance.
Giants 7, Pirates 6: The resilient Giants scored six unanswered after falling behind 6-1 early. Joe Panik knocked in the go-ahead run with a double in the sixth.
Tigers 5, Mariners 1: Rookie Steven Moya hit a pair of solo home runs as the Mariners fall to 36-36.
Rangers 6, Reds 4: Texas wins a big game, but loses pitchers Derek Holland and Colby Lewis to the disabled list. Lewis is expected to miss two months with a lat strain.
Twins 6, Phillies 5: Max Kepler tied the game with an RBI single in the fifth and then gave Minnesota the lead for good with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Dodgers 4, Nationals 3: The Dodgers won the wildest game of the year on a walk-off Little League home run from Yasiel Puig.
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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
