It seemed like maybe the Cubs could gain some momentum from their three game sweep of Houston only a week ago. Then, they faltered in Milwaukee, getting swept by the first place Brewers. They continued their run of poor play in St. Louis, as Edwin Jackson and the Cardinals did them in.
Jackson made his first start for the Cardinals, and it was a good one. He pitched 7.0 innings of one run baseball, giving up seven hits and two walks while striking out four. The only run he gave up came in the top of the second. Marlon Byrd doubled, advanced after Geovany Soto was hit by a pitch, and then got to third after Alfonso Soriano singled. He came home on a Tyler Colvin sacrifice double play, to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
But, the Cards would storm back against Matt Garza. David Freese started the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, hitting his sixth home run of the season, scoring Albert Pujols and Matt Holiday. The Cardinals continued to pour it on throughout the game, and Garza’s stat line ended up at 5.2 innings pitched, with six earned runs on eight hits and two walks, with three strikeouts.
St. Louis hammered home the victory on the relievers too, adding another three runs to put the game away 9-2. The teams will play the second game of the series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 P.M., CDT.