CHICAGO — It may be difficult to fathom how a series that began with the St. Louis Cardinals allowing a club record amount of home runs could end even worse for them, but they found a way.
In arguably their worst loss of the season, the Cardinals yanked their starter in the second inning and trailed by 10 runs before they could get a second out in the fourth inning. The Cubs scored at least once in the first five innings of the game on their way to a 11-0 rout of their archrivals. The score does not cover the debacle the Cardinals must face.
They were shut out for the fourth time in their past six games.
They had a chance to steal a series that began with them allowing eight homers — a club record for how many the Cubs hit, and a club record for how many the Cardinals allowed — and wilted on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. In two appearances on the national broadcast, the Cardinals have been outscored 29 to 7.
They had a chance to assert themselves as a contender and potential buyer at the trade deadline, and instead they leave the North Side of Chicago trailing the first-place Cubs by 6 1/2 games with only six head-to-head games remaining.
And they have pressing pitching concerns.
Erick Fedde did not finish the second inning before allowing three runs, four walks and two hits. He’s allowed 17 runs in his previous three starts, and he’s not alone. The series began with the Cubs hitting six home runs off of Miles Mikolas before he adjusted his delivery and held them scoreless for three innings. The Cardinals have rookie Michael McGreevy eligible to return from the minors on July 10 — and they have reasons to consider turning to him.
Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner had a double, single, triple and two runs scored before the end of the fourth inning. On the day he was named a National League All-Star lefty Matthew Boyd collected his second win in as many starts against the Cardinals and struck out a season-high nine batters.
Bad became worse
This is how awful the first few innings went for the Cardinals:
In consecutive innings and twice in the first three innings of the game, manager Oliver Marmol emerged from the dugout to replace a pitcher with the bases loaded.
In the second inning, Fedde handed over the ball to Marmol and reliever John King arrived with three inherited runners. In the third inning, King was in the soup when Marmol arrived to pass the problem to right-handed reliever Matt Svanson. Of the six runners those two relievers inherited, five scored as the Cubs just piled on and on and on in the early innings.
The matchup was tricky enough for King, but with the starter out in the second inning it wasn’t like a club scrambling to cover innings could be choosy. When a second consecutive walk ejected Fedde from the game, the batter due up with the bases loaded was left-handed-hitting All-Star Kyle Tucker. In his career, he’s 3 for 7 with two home runs against King. Yet, King got the call. He did not allow a homer.
Tucker tagged him for a two-run single that widened the Cubs’ lead to 3-0.
It only felt far larger.
The first four batters of the third inning reached base against King. Three of the Cubs singled, and a fourth Cub slipped a walk in there. They went station to station to score a run on Reese McGuire’s single and that bounced King from the game so that Svanson could face No. 9 hitter Matt Shaw. Svanson got the groundball that should have netted an out at home plate — but Thomas Saggese’s throw was wide. The error allowed a run to score.
Svanson would get outs, but all three runners he inherited scored – in order – on the error, on a groundout, and on a sacrifice fly.
That is how the Cubs opened up a 9-0 lead by the end of the third.
Fedde’s problems persist
A clear and present concern for the Cardinals is the ongoing struggles of Fedde.
His line from Sunday night’s game is misleading.
He allowed three runs on two hits and four walks, and he collected only four outs. The Cardinals planned to be aggressive in relief for the right-hander given his recent outings and their full complement of relievers. (Only lefty Steven Matz was likely unavailable, and it was his work in Saturday’s win pairing with Monday’s off day that made everyone else available.) The abbreviated start was prepared for — and that kept the line from mushrooming more.
Fedde entered Sunday’s game having allowed seven runs in each of his previous two starts. His ERA inflated from 3.54 to 4.56 in the span of 8 2/3 innings. His sinker wasn’t cooperating. His cutter was misbehaving. And though he sought to throw his sweeping slider with more force and more direction, it too was betraying him after being one of the better breaking balls in baseball a year ago.
Through 53 pitches Sunday, Fedde threw mostly sweepers.
The Cubs put one cutter in play at 101.9 mph, and the one sinker they put in play left the bat at 96.6 mph. Both pitches were hit hard. The sinker was crushed for a leadoff double by Hoerner in the second inning that hastened Fedde’s departure. The cutter was laced for a groundout — the only out that Fedde got in the second inning.
It took Fedde 35 pitches to get through the first inning, and the way he labored had a lasting effect on the first half of the game. After a one-hour rain delay, it took the clubs one hour to play the first two innings. Fedde bogged the first inning down by allowing two walks, two stolen bases and even needed a nine-pitch at-bat to get a flyout for the final out.
He escaped the inning with just a 1-0 deficit.
But trouble clearly loomed.
Cards whiff on early chance
One of the things Marmol pointed out about Saturday’s game was how the Cardinals, fresh off that disaster on Friday, scored quickly to take the game’s first lead.
They had that same chance Sunday.
Against All-Star Boyd, Masyn Winn worked a walk and Willson Contreras outran a grounder for an infield single. The Cardinals had two runners on and the middle of their order coming up. Yohel Pozo, who hit the three-run homer that clinched Saturday’s win, was on deck and batting No. 5 as the designated hitter with Nolan Arenado out of the lineup.
Boyd didn’t blink.
The lefty struck out Alec Burleson and Pozo to end the inning without either of the Cardinals on base advancing. Including those two strikeouts, Boyd would strike seven Cardinals in a 10-batter stretch through the end of the third inning. While his teammates heaped on the runs and forced the Cardinals into the bullpen early and often, Boyd just missed bats. He struck out a season-high nine — before the end of the fourth inning.
One start removed from spinning six scoreless against the Cardinals as Busch Stadium, Boyd threw five scoreless Sunday. They managed three hits.
And each time the Cardinals got an at-bat with a runner in scoring position against him, Boyd struck the batter out.
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