CHICAGO — One bad inning spoiled Erick Fedde’s debut with the Cardinals on Friday at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs scored five runs off Fedde in the second inning, three on a home run by Christian Bethancourt, and the Cardinals could not overcome the early deficit.
Fedde gave up three consecutive one-out singles before Bethancourt, the Cubs’ ninth-place hitter, lined a home run into the basket in right field. Michael Busch also homered to cap the five-run inning.
Fedde needed 64 pitches to get the first two innings as the Cubs fouled off 16 pitches and swung and missed on only four pitches. Fedde then settled down and retired the final 10 batters he faced before coming out of the game after the fifth inning.
Here is how Friday’s game broke down:
At the plate: All three of the Cardinals’ runs scored on bases-loaded walks, including two in the eighth inning when the Cardinals sent eight batters to the plate and did not put a ball in play. All three of their outs came on strikeouts, and they also drew five walks in the inning, including four in a row … Paul Goldschmidt drew the first bases-loaded walk of the day in the third inning before Nolan Arenado flew out to end the inning … In the eighth, Tommy Pham and Brendan Donovan drew the bases-loaded walks with two outs before Brandon Crawford, pinch-hitting for Michael Siani, struck out … Siani had singled in the third to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, one of only four hits by the Cardinals, two of which came from Masyn Winn … Willson Contreras struck out three times.
On the mound: Fedde pitched around a two-out triple in the first inning, but wasn’t as lucky in the second. He did not walk a batter and finished with four strikeouts … The five runs equaled the most Fedde had allowed in a start this season for the White Sox … Shawn Armstrong also made his Cardinals debut, working 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He got away with a leadoff single in the sixth and a leadoff walk in the seventh, with Matthew Liberatore getting the final out of the inning … A throwing error by Kyle Leahy on a pickoff attempt at second base gave the Cubs their final run in the eighth.
Key stat: The Cardinals were 0-of-7 with a runner in scoring position, and 0-of-2 with the bases loaded, plus the three walks. They are 14-of-76 with the bases loaded this season, a .184 average, which ranks 29th in the major leagues, ahead of only the White Sox.
Worth noting: Giovanny Gallegos, who had been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was granted his release, becoming a free agent … Fedde became the 11th pitcher to start a game for the Cardinals this season. They had a total of 10 starters in 2023.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson will get the start in the 1:20 p.m. game on Saturday, the third game of the four-game series.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
