ST. LOUIS — The Chicago Cubs were set up well heading into Saturday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Riding a five-game winning streak, the rotation allowed only two total runs to begin the road trip while the pitching staff’s 32 consecutive scoreless innings streak, which ended in the ninth inning Friday, tied their road franchise record set in 1908 and was the longest overall since 1971.
Their positive momentum from the past week came to a halt Saturday, getting swept by the Cardinals in the doubleheader. A disastrous first inning in Game 1 quickly put the Cubs out of it en route to an 11-3 loss and their hold of a one-run lead most of Game 2 slipped away in the eighth inning in a 5-4 loss.
The Cubs (46-51) close out the first half Sunday looking to split the series heading into the All-Star break.
For as good as their starters have been this season, two rough outings by Hayden Wesneski and Javier Assad put the Cubs in tough spots. The bullpen stepped up in Game 2, holding a 4-3 lead until the eighth. Nolan Arenado took a fastball right-hander Porter Hodge left over the middle of the plate for a go-ahead, two-run single.
“The bullpen was wonderful,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Those guys did a nice job. The game kind of for Javi struggling a little bit and maybe not giving us everything we wanted, but the rest of the guys did a really nice job. We put the game in really good position. We asked Porter to do a tough job to get five outs in a one-run game to go through the middle of their lineup.”
The Cubs had a prime chance to add on in the fourth inning with runners on the corners and nobody out. Seiya Suzuki struck out looking, and Ian Happ walked to load the bases for Christopher Morel. Ahead 2-1 in the count, Morel tried to pull Kyle Gibson’s sweeper on the outside edge of the plate and hit into a crushing inning-ending double play. He had another opportunity to come through in the ninth with the tying run on third but struck out to end the game.
Outfield assists by Suzuki at home in the second inning and Happ at second base for a double play to end the third helped keep the Cubs ahead early.
The Cubs finished 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. They fell to 14-20 in one-run games and have lost six straight in such situations.
“Us not being able to cash in the runs and so it’s one-run loss,” Counsell said.
St. Louis (50-45) put up nine runs — just two earned — off right-hander Hayden Wesneski in the opening frame in Game 1 as it got away from them early in the 11-3 loss.
Sloppy defense played a big role in the inning getting away from Wesneski and the Cubs. A Wesneski error on a wild throw to second, an attempted fielder’s choice by third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni who didn’t record an out and a Wesneski fielding error led to three runs on three weak balls in play that featured an expected average ranging from .060 to .260.
“It makes it a lot harder when you’re giving a team six outs,” Counsell said. ” … We just couldn’t finish the inning.”
The inning turned, however, when Wesneski hit Michael Siani with a 2-2 sweeper to bring home a run. Wesneski had given himself a chance to escape with St. Louis only up 3-1. He struck out Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pagés after his second error of the inning. But his errant pitch to Siani proved costly. Masyn Winn followed with an RBI single in his second at-bat of the inning and Alec Burleson delivered a three-run home run to cap the nightmarish inning.
Wesneski became the 16th Cubs pitcher since 1901 to have seven or more unearned runs in a game and the first since Chuck Rainey (May 31, 1984, at Philadelphia Phillies).
“I was the one who really messed it up starting with the sailed throw to second,” Wesneski said. “Still competed, still got weak contact. It’s one of those things where one thing goes right we’re in a different game. The home run in the end was just kind of the nail in the coffin.
“I was grinding my butt off and left one pitch over the middle and (Burleson) hit it. It could have been a different game if that first inning goes away.”
The Cardinals started with three consecutive singles to tie the game, erasing Suzuki’s solo home run and Cubs lead from the top of the first. Wesneski needed 40 pitches to get out of the first, and with a second game to still play Saturday night and Assad on a pitch count, he had to wear it.
Counsell got four innings from Wesneski, who ultimately gave up 10 hits, 11 runs (four earned), one walk and four strikeouts.
“Just get ahead and throw strikes,” Wesneski said of his mentality after the first. “Can’t have walks from now until I get pulled. So it was just filling it up at that point and if punchouts come, punchouts come, but I was trying to get first-pitch outs and make them swing and they still made me work. So, I mean, kudos to them, but I was trying to get through five, six but you know four is what we got.”
The Cubs optioned Ethan Roberts to Triple-A Iowa between games for Daniel Palencia to get a fresh arm after the right-hander threw two scoreless innings. They are also without lefty Luke Little for at least 15 days, putting him on the injured list with a shoulder strain. He departed Friday night’s game in the middle of an at-bat when he felt something on the last pitch he threw. Counsell said the Cubs expect to learn more about his injury during the upcoming All-Star break.
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