By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardinals split a series with the Chicago Cubs after falling in a shutout for a second straight game, losing 3-0 on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
After winning the first two games of the series with a combined score of 16-9, the Cubs came back in the final two games of the series and slowed down the Redbirds offense, outscoring them 11-0.
Chicago opened the scoring in the second inning, in a series that’s been filled with home runs, with a solo home run by Michael Busch. In the fourth inning, the lead was extended on a bases loaded walk to Ian Happ, scoring Busch for his second run of the game. Then in the eighth inning, with Pete Crow-Armstrong at third base, Dansby Swanson attempted to steal second, and was caught stealing, allowing Crow-Armstrong to come home and score the final run.
St. Louis again struggled to get on base in the series finale, getting just one hit off of Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, a single by Masyn Winn. Imanaga did walk one batter, and Cubs reliever Brad Keller walked two before the Cardinals also got hits off of Drew Pomeranz, a single by Garrett Hampson, and Daniel Palencia, a double by Alec Burleson.
Andre Pallante took the loss, falling to 5-4 on the season, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. At the plate, Burleson was 1-for-4 with the double and Winn was also 1-for-4 while Hampson was 1-for-3. Willson Contreras was 0-for-1 with two walks.
St. Louis travels next to Cleveland tomorrow. Sonny Gray (7-2, 3.72 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Luis L Ortiz (4-8, 4.30 ERA) for the Guardians. First pitch is at 6:10pm, and will be joined near the start at 6 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.
