It was a pitcher's duel in St. Louis on Tuesday night, and they ended up falling just short against the Chicago Cubs 2-1. The Cardinals scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth, and they didn't even earn it. A bad throw by second baseman Javier Baez allowed Stephen Piscotty to advance to home base. That run wasn't enough as the Cubs scored two in the top of the fourth. It was ultimately a gem of an outing for their reliable starter, Jake Arrieta, with the exception of throwing a few wild pitches in the contest.
Cubs even series against rivals
Chicago only picked up five hits in the game, but they did enough to get the victory. All the action happened in the top of the fourth, and it began with shortstop Addison Russell doubling it to right center. After walking Willson Contreras, right fielder Jason Heyward drove in Russell for the first score of the game. Baez, before throwing the error, hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the second run of the match.
A closer look at Arrieta's first win of the season for the Cubs: he gave up four hits and just one run, which wasn't earned due to Baez's error. He walked two batters and struck out six of them. Wade Davis came in to pick up the save and only gave up one walk before tossing out the side.
Cardinals can't come back this time
St. Louis was still able to pull out the season opener after giving up three runs to the Cubs in the ninth inning. Chicago tied it up, but the Cardinals answered with a run of their own to get the win. That didn't happen in the second game of the series, and they only had four hits on the day from four different players.
Four runners were left in scoring position with two outs.
Center fielder Dexter Fowler recorded one of the hits, but he accounted for three of the team's eight strikeouts. Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright nearly matched the brilliance of the Cubs' Arrieta but gave up just one run too many.
The rubber match in this rivalry ends on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch will be at 1:45 PM Eastern time.
