CHICAGO — With the wind blowing out at a 17-mph clip Sunday night at Wrigley Field, it was evident early that balls hit in the air had a chance to leave the ballpark.
The Cubs hit two of them off Dakota Hudson in the first two innings, but as the Cardinals came off the field after that inning, trailing 3-1, Paul Goldschmidt had a message for his pitcher.
“Goldy looks at me and he says, ‘You know what, on this kind of day we’re going to score runs,'” Hudson said. “Just do what you can.”
Goldschmidt didn’t take long to back up his words, hitting a towering three-run homer in the next half inning to cap a four-run inning that put the Cardinals back in front to stay as Hudson and the bullpen combined to keep the Cubs from scoring again.
Goldschmidt’s blast, which cleared the left-field bleachers and landed on Waveland Avenue, was estimated at 443 feet, which seemed to do a disservice to the home run.
The win was the third in a row for the Cardinals in the five-game series, which concludes on Monday. They also kept their record perfect at 14-0 this season when scoring five or more runs.
The final score was 7-3 Cardinals.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate:
Tommy Edman started the offense with a homer with one out in the first. And in the third, Harrison Bader ignited the rally when he was hit by a pitch. Kolten Wong followed with a double and after a fielder’s choice groundout, Goldschmidt delivered his fourth homer of the season, the first since Aug. 24, a span of 41 at bats.
The final run of the inning was scored on a double by Rangel Ravelo, who started as the designated hitter.
Bader had his first three-hit game of the season, including two doubles, and scored a run.
Paul DeJong added an RBI single, his ninth RBI with two outs this season, which leads the team.
On the mound:
Hudson also allowed a home run in the first inning, a solo shot by Anthony Rizzo, before the two-run shot by Jason Kipnis in the second.
After the four runs by the Cardinals in the top of the third, Hudson retired Kris Bryant, Rizzo and Javier Baez in order in the bottom of the inning. He stranded two runners on base in the fourth and one in the fifth before turning the game over to the bullpen.
Alex Reyes, Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos combined to retire 12 of the 13 hitters they faced, recording eight strikeouts. The only hit they allowed was a leadoff double by Bryant off Cabrera in the eighth.
Reyes struck out four of the five hitters he faced and Cabrera got all four of his outs on strikeouts.
Key stat:
After their four scoreless innings on Sunday night, the Cardinals bullpen has now allowed only two runs in a combined 14 1/3 innings in the first four games of the series, an ERA of 1.26.
Worth noting:
Manager Mike Shildt said he learned of the death of Lou Brock shortly before game time, and he thought it was possible some of the players did not hear the news until it was flashed on the video board and a moment of silence was held before the start of the game.
“You’re talking about an iconic Cardinal and that’s saying something. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of Cardinals,” Shildt said. “Just a sweet person, a really, really good man.”
Looking ahead:
The Cardinals will play their final game of the season against the Cubs on Monday. Rookie Johan Oviedo will get the start, with Kyle Hendricks set to pitch for the Cubs.
