LDN - Sports

Piscotty homer helps Cards earn split with Cubs

[August 15, 2016] CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals trail the Chicago Cubs by 12 games in the National League Central.

However, the Cardinals remain in position to grab an NL wild card -- and they have to feel encouraged after taking the final two games of a four-game series against the best team in baseball.

Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run home run as the Cardinals scored five runs in the eighth inning in a 6-4 victory over the Cubs on Sunday night to split the series.

"It's Cardinals-Cubs -- anything can happen," Piscotty said. "I think we showed that."

The Cubs have lost two straight after their 11-game winning streak was snapped Saturday. They also are dealing with an injury to starting pitcher John Lackey, who left the Sunday game due to tightness in his right (throwing) shoulder.

Lackey exited after a 2-2 curveball to Randal Grichuk with two outs in the seventh. Justin Grimm replaced him and threw one pitch to strike out Grichuk.

"I'm OK," Lackey said. "The extra bullpen session was probably not the best for me. I've been a little tight since then. I'll be all right."

Lackey allowed an unearned run and four hits, struck out five and walked one in 6 2/3 innings. He threw 106 pitches before manager Joe Maddon visited the mound and pulled him from the game.

"An old thing?" Lackey said in describing the ailment. "It was pretty tight. I feel like I probably could have gotten through that last hitter. Joe wanted to be on the cautious side. We'll be all right."

Piscotty homered off setup man Hector Rondon, who was making his first appearance since Aug. 2 after resting a sore triceps. Rondon (2-3) allowed singles to pinch hitter Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia before Piscotty's 17th home run.

"Great way to bounce back," Piscotty said. "We kind of know what our role here is going forward. We're fighting for that wild-card spot."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said a player in the dugout called the home run.

"They believe in each other, which is great to hear, not afraid to have fun, show their emotion," Matheny said. "Game like that, it's so loud. There's so much excitement about the other side right in the middle of the game. It kind of brings out the best in a group like this. They're playing well, no question. Nice to see our guys not back off."

Brandon Moss followed with a solo shot, his team-leading 21st of the season, to chase Rondon, who gave up four runs and recorded one out.

"Stuff was definitely a little bit less than normal," Maddon said of Rondon.

Travis Wood took over and allowed a walk, a single and the an RBI double by Grichuk.

Anthony Rizzo homered off Kevin Siegrist in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to two. Rizzo has 25 this season. After a strikeout, Siegrist exited due to arm soreness as a precautionary measure. Seung Hwan Oh replaced him and got the final five outs for his 11th save.
Rizzo drove in three runs for the Cubs, who have the best record in the majors, 73-43.

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Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss (37), right fielder Stephen Piscotty (55), and catcher Yadier Molina (4) celebrate after defeating the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals (62-56) ended the Cubs' longest winning streak since 2001 with an 8-4 decision Saturday.

"We've been down quite a few times early, and guys just keep playing the game," Matheny said. "That's something (I'm) extremely proud about this club. They don't give in, and they don't give up. They keep playing the game."

The Cardinals went ahead 7-6 in the season series against the Cubs, who dropped consecutive games for the first time since July 25-26.

"That's a good organization, good quality ballclub," Lackey said about his former team. "They're not going to back down."

Cardinals starter Mike Leake allowed three runs in six-plus innings.

Kris Bryant tripled and scored on Rizzo's single for a 3-1 Cubs lead in the sixth.

The Cubs loaded the bases in the seventh on a double, an infield single and a walk. Reliever Matt Bowman (2-4) got two flyouts and a strikeout to get out of the inning.

"Offensively, we do need to do better in those particular moments to take advantage and put those add-on runs on," Maddon said. "That was a big moment, bases loaded, them getting out of it."

The Cubs' first three batters of the game got on base, with Chicago taking the lead on Rizzo's RBI single. Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly brought in a second run.

St. Louis cut the Chicago lead to one in the third. Garcia singled to snap an 0-for-31 skid, and Piscotty was hit by a pitch. The Cubs tried to turn a double play on a Matt Carpenter grounder, but Zobrist committed a throwing error at second, allowing a run to score.

NOTES: RHP Trevor Cahill (1-3, 3.07 ERA) will start the first game of the Cubs' doubleheader Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, manager Joe Maddon said. Cahill (right knee patellar tendinitis) has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 9. ... RHP Jason Hammel (12-5, 2.90 ERA) is scheduled to start the second game. ... Cardinals 2B Jedd Gyorko has 10 home runs since July 18 to lead the National League. He is tied with Minnesota's Brian Dozier for the major league lead. ... The Cardinals continued to bat 1B Matt Carpenter third on Sunday. The team's usual No. 3 hitter, OF Matt Holliday, went on the DL Saturday with a broken thumb. ... St. Louis starts a two-game series at Houston on Tuesday.

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