Cardinals crush Cubs, run winning streak to six
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[July 21, 2023]
Steven Matz allowed a run over five solid innings for his
first victory of the year as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals won
their sixth straight game, beating the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Thursday
night.
Rookie Jordan Walker's two-run homer highlighted St. Louis' four-run
fourth inning.
Paul DeJong also clubbed a two-run homer and Nolan Arenado had a
two-run double for the Cardinals, who have won nine of 11 and
totaled 46 runs while going 6-1 since the All-Star break.
The Cubs saw a two-game winning streak end as they dropped the
opener of a four-game series.
Matz (1-7), making his third start since re-entering the rotation,
allowed only a fourth-inning run, three hits and one walk en route
to his first win in 21 outings (13 starts) in 2023. He struck out
six.
After allowing six runs, three earned, in 3 1/3 innings against St.
Louis in London on June 25, Chicago's Marcus Stroman (10-7) again
failed to complete four innings vs. the Cardinals.
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The right-hander was plagued by some poor defense behind him in
England, and again on Thursday, when he yielded five runs, four
earned. Stroman gave up seven hits and four walks while fanning four
in 3 2/3 innings.
In the first, St. Louis star Paul Goldschmidt (two hits, two runs)
reached on an infield chopper, then went to third when Patrick
Wisdom whiffed on Arenado's two-out grounder, the first of the third
baseman's two errors. Ex-Cub Willson Contreras followed with an RBI
double.
Stroman allowed a bloop double to right by Tyler O'Neill in the
fourth, then served up Walker's ninth homer -- on an 0-2 count.
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![](../images/072123PIX/sports51.jpg)
Jul 20, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA;
Chicago Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom (16) gets hit in the head
as St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (40) checks on his
condition during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory
Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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One out later, Lars Nootbar singled and stole
second, and Wisdom couldn't make a throw following a sliding grab on
Goldschmidt's infield single. After Nolan Gorman struck out, Arenado
found the right field gap to score two for a 5-0 Cardinals lead.
Chicago got on the board in the bottom of that frame. Seiya Suzuki's
leadoff popup to short right field was lost in the lights, resulting
in a double. He scored on Yan Gomes' two-out hit to right that
Walker played into the catcher's first of two triples.
After Walker singled with one out in the fifth, DeJong cleared the
right field wall against Michael Rucker for his 13th homer.
Gomes (three hits) tripled and scored on Christopher Morel's
groundout in the seventh.
--Field Level Media
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