CHICAGO — There have been a lot of things which have been hard to understand about the Cardinals so far this season, and Jordan Montgomery’s start on Wednesday night provided the most recent example.
Despite the fact that Montgomery has been the Cardinals’ best starter, the loss to the Cubs dropped them to 0-6 in his last six starts.
Montgomery came into the game with a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings against the Cubs, all from last season, but a three-run third snapped that streak and sent the Cubs to the victory at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs scored in five consecutive innings as they ended the Cardinals’ brief three-game winning streak and dropped their season record to 13-25.
Here is how Wednesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals gave Montgomery an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first and third on an RBI triple by Nolan Arenado and a run-scoring single by Willson Contreras … The Cardinals had only three hits between the fourth and eighth innings, then finally scored another run in the ninth on a single by Lars Nootbaar, one of three hits in the inning … Paul DeJong was the only Cardinal with a two-hit night.
On the mound: Montgomery allowed six runs over five innings, including a pair of two-run homers, to Patrick Wisdom in the third and Yan Gomes in the fourth … The Cubs added three runs off Drew VerHagen in the sixth and another off James Naile in the seventh … The seventh, eighth and ninth-place hitters for the Cubs reached base a combined 10 times in 12 plate appearances with six hits and four walks. The trio scored five runs and drove in four.
Key stat: The Cardinals’ starting pitchers have recorded only six wins in their 38 games this season, going a combined 6-16. They have only three wins in the last month – by Jake Woodford on April 19 against Arizona, by Jack Flaherty on April 23 in Seattle and by Miles Mikolas on April 27 in San Francisco.
Worth noting: The loss snapped the Cardinals’ six-game winning streak against the Cubs dating back to last year … In the three-game series, new Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was a combined 6-of-13 with five doubles, a home run and six RBIs … The Cardinals have not had a starting pitcher work at least six innings in their last five games and it has happened only once (exactly six innings) in their last 10 games.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will spend Thursday’s day off in Boston before opening a three-game series against the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park. Adam Wainwright will make his second start since coming off the injured list and his second regular-season start at Fenway in his career. He also started game one of the 2013 World Series at Fenway.
