Chicago Cubs starter Ryan Dempster didn't get traded before his start on Friday night vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, but it might have been better if he had. Dempster gave up three earned runs in the first inning, a deficit the the Cubs wouldn't come close to coming back from.
Those first inning runs came on singles from Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina and a groundout by the recently returned Lance Berkman. Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning to bring the score to 3-1, but Matt Holliday took that back with a solo homer off Dempster in the third to extend the lead to 4-1.
Kyle Lohse stymied the Cubs over seven innings, giving up only six hits and the one earned run while striking out four and only walking one. Dempster would go six innings, allowing the four runs.
The two teams will be back on the field on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. CT.
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