The hype surrounding the first Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals game of the season was unreal.
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The St. Louis Cardinals entered their three-game series with the visiting Chicago Cubs as the highest-scoring team in the majors, but they were no match for their National League Central rival’s pitching staff in the opener.
Four of the Cardinals runs came in the first two innings, with Matt Holliday hitting a two-run homer off Kyle Hendricks in the first and Molina doubling and Kolten Wong and Martinez singling to key a two-run second.
John Lackey had a little extra something in the tank for his old team.
Jason Hammel (2-0) allowed just one run on five hits over six innings in Tuesday’s win against the Cardinals.
“It’s not what I want to do”, Garcia said. “It was kind of a heart-breaking experience for me that the business broke us up that quickly”. The fireballer can’t mask his club’s recent shortcomings with the lumber, though, as the Cards are 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position over the past three games.
“They don’t boo too often”, Heyward said in a postgame interview. The Cubs last swept St. Louis in three games on the road September 13-15, 2010.
ST. LOUIS – The Cardinals had winning records against the Chicago Cubs (11-8) and Pittsburgh Pirates (10-9) last season, which essentially decided the order of finish in their division. “The pitchers have done a great job, they really have”. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular. “He had his sharpness tonight”.
Mike Matheny was among those that took exception to what as perceived as a shot at the Cardinals’ aging core. 400 in 35 at-bats.
Heyward said his comments about being a part of a younger core group have been misconstrued in St. Louis. “We do also see a trend of him getting better the more he gets out there, the more opportunities there are”.
One report said some in the crowd were heard using racist terms in expressing displeasure with Heyward, who said he didn’t hear anything beyond the booing. “On the mound, Hammel allowed just five hits over six innings, giving up the only Cardinals run in the second on a single followed by a triple by Yadier Molina, the sixth of his career”. I think Cubs fans have got something to cheer about finally.
Lackey struck out Leake and then got Matt Carpenter swinging on a breaking ball to end the inning. And hopefully we can get to that point here, where both teams are really good, both teams have their years, but every single year you’re going into the season, you probably know one team’s going to win 11 games and one team’s going to win 10.
Cardinals: SS Ruben Tejada was activated from the 15-day DL from a strained left quadriceps but did not start.
The Cardinals were the first team to score in the bottom of the second inning. The 13-game streak to start the year is the most in the majors since 1988 when the Astros had a 22-game streak and the Indians’ 17 according to STATS.
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Heyward is 1 for 18 against Leake with one RBI although he lined out sharply twice.
