St. Louis 8, Chi. Cubs 1
When: 7:15 PM ET, Saturday, June 27, 2015
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Temperature:
79°
Umpires:
Home -
Adrian Johnson, 1B -
Bill Miller, 2B -
Doug Eddings, 3B -
Jim Wolf
Attendance:
46407
By The Sports Xchange
ST. LOUIS -- A night after Greg Garcia gave the St. Louis Cardinals an unexpected boost, another Triple-A call-up stepped up to help the majors' best team post another win.
Giving regular first baseman Mark Reynolds a night off, Xavier Scruggs went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs on Saturday as St. Louis routed the Chicago Cubs 8-1 at sold-out Busch Stadium.
"It felt real good just to be able to help this team out," Scruggs said. "I'm just trying to be a piece in the puzzle."
Since earning his second promotion of the year from Memphis on June 19, Scruggs has rapped out eight hits in three starts, including three-hit games in his last two appearances. His RBI single in the fourth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and he added to a four-run fifth with a run-scoring double to the wall in left center.
The 27-year-old Scruggs has 145 homers in seven-plus minor league seasons, including four straight 20-homer years, but went just 3-for-15 in a late-season call-up to the Cardinals last year.
"The times he's been up here in the past, we didn't give him too many opportunities," manager Mike Matheny said of Scruggs. "You're seeing him improve as a hitter. You see less holes in his swing. I've seen him in our minor league system and when he gets going, it's impressive."
Kind of like Scruggs' team. At 50-24, St. Louis remains eight games ahead of Pittsburgh in the National League Central and has won five straight games, the fifth time this year it has won at least five in a row.
In improving to 28-7 at home, the Cardinals reached 50 wins before July 1 for the first time in franchise history. It's their best start since the 1944 team went 50-21-2 en route to winning the World Series.
"We're not completely oblivious to it, but we're not dwelling on it, either," Matheny said. "I think it's a distraction to what we have to do next. The guys have been diligent about doing their work from day to day. They might celebrate for a bit after they win, but they're always focused on the next game."
Chicago (39-34) opened scoring in the second when starting pitcher Donn Roach helped himself with an RBI single, but Roach lost his 1-0 lead and the game in the fourth.
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina tied the score with a perfectly executed hit-and-run double to right center that scored right fielder Jason Heyward from first, then rode home on the first of Scruggs' three hits.
Two batters after Roach departed, third baseman Matt Carpenter delivered a two-run single off reliever Travis Wood to cap a four-run fourth.
Roach, who was called up Friday from Triple-A Iowa, gave up eight hits and four runs in 3 1/3 innings, walking one and fanning one in his first MLB outing this year.
"I think they did a good job of staying up the middle," Roach said of St. Louis' approach. "I'm looking for ground balls and they're hitting them up the middle and no one's there. I obviously threw some mistakes today, but I didn't think it was that bad."
The Cardinals blew it open with four runs in the fifth. Left fielder Randal Grichuk and Scruggs rifled RBI doubles, followed by a two-run, ground-rule double to right center by second baseman Kolten Wong.
St. Louis starter Michael Wacha (10-3) was the beneficiary of the mid-game outburst, working six solid innings and inducing three inning-ending double plays. Wacha scattered six hits and allowed one run, walking two and fanning five.
Carlos Villanueva pitched the last three innings for his first save of the season.
NOTES: St. Louis LHP Jaime Garcia (groin cramp) skipped his bullpen session on Saturday and will not take his turn Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox. RHP Lance Lynn will replace Garcia, working on a normal four days of rest. ... Cubs manager Joe Maddon said RF Jorge Soler (left ankle sprain) could start a rehab assignment next week. Soler, who is batting .265 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 49 games, has been out since June 3. ... Cardinals LF Matt Holliday took batting practice before Saturday's game, cranking out several home runs. Holliday has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 9 with a right quad strain but could return before the All-Star break.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Chi. Cubs
|
7 |
0 |
9 |
.226 |
18 |
8 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| St. Louis
|
13 |
0 |
17 |
.382 |
24 |
4 |
8 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
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