After defeating the Chicago Cubs Sunday on Opening Night by a score of 3-0, the Cardinals/Cubs game that was scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled due to inclement weather in the area.
But their two-day vacation ended Wednesday, as they played in game two of the series.
On the mound for the Cubs was pitcher Jake Arrieta, while Lance Lynn was on the mound for the Cardinals. The veteran Lynn aimed to get his 50th career win. Last year, after the All-Star break, Lynn had the second-best ERA, with 2.19 and a 7-4 record. As for Arrieta, last year in total, he went 10-5 in 25 starts with a 2.53 ERA.
And in a thrilling pitcher’s duel, it was Arrieta that came out on top.
Wednesday’s game started off with a lead-off walk to Matt Carpenter, but was forced out at second after a ground-ball failed sacrifice by Jason Heyward, coming off an impressive debut for the Cardinals on Sunday. The same play occurred to Heyward after a base hit by Matt Holliday. Afterwards, Matt Adams drew a walk on four pitches, but despite having two runners on, Arrieta was able to strike out Jhonny Peralta to end the top of the first.
Lance Lynn, on the other hand, had himself a much smoother first half inning, and in the process, striking out his 600th career batter during a 1-2-3 inning. Through the first two innings, Lynn had struck out three, and had retired six straight. And in the top of the third, he even had a single that dropped into right field (he had four hits ALL of 2014).
Meanwhile, Arrieta was pitching a shutout of his own, despite the Cardinals having runners in scoring position in both the first and third innings early on..
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that Chicago was able to get a hit off of Lynn, which turned out to be a triple by Jorge Soler. Anthony Rizzo would then walk, but Lynn was able to get out of the jam, and the score remained 0-0.
In four of the first five innings pitched, Lynn had faced the minimum amount of batters, and had struck out seven.
And through six scoreless innings, only one hit (the Soler triple) was allowed by Lynn, while he had nine strikeouts on 82 pitches. Both pitchers dueled well into the seventh inning, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon would pull Arrieta in favor of Phil Coke. In the bottom of the seventh, Lynn started off poorly hitting Rizzo with the first pitch he threw. He would advance to second on a poor throw by Lynn at first. Castro would launch a shot into center-field, scoring Rizzo, and giving the Cubs the 1-0 lead. Manager Mike Matheny would then pull Lynn after 87 pitches, for Kevin Siegrist.
Heyward would get on base in the top of the eighth after a misplayed ball by Castro. However, neither Holliday or Adams could score in the half-inning, and the Cardinals still trailed the Cubs 2-0 heading into the ninth inning.
With closer Hector Rondon on the mound for the top of the ninth, the Cardinals attempted to comeback, but were unable to do so, and the Cubs won 2-0, getting their first win of the season, and Joe Maddon’s first win as Cubs’ manager.
It was an intense pitching duel between two key members of the pitching rotations of their respective teams. Lance Lynn, despite his strong performance for 95% of the game, got the loss.
Friday, April 10th, John Lackey will get the start as the St. Louis Cardinals face the Cincinnati Reds in another key early NL Central match-up.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
