CHICAGO — Pedro Pages could very well end up with more important hits in his major-league career, but for now, the one he delivered on Friday at Wrigley Field stands at the top of the list.
Pages broke up a scoreless duel in the eighth inning with his first career home run, the ball nestling safely into the basket in front of the left-field bleachers, and the Cardinals added two insurance runs in the ninth to win the opener of the weekend series against the Cubs.
The home run came with Pages’ father and several other family members in the stands.
The Cardinals also played their best defensive game of the year to support a seven-inning start from Kyle Gibson before the bullpen secured the victory.
The win allowed the Cardinals to once again reach the .500 mark for the season, now with a 34-34 record.
Here is how Friday’s game broke down:
At the plate: An injury knocked Cubs starter Jordan Wicks out of the game in the second inning and longtime Cardinals killer Kyle Hendricks came out of the bullpen and allowed only two hits over 4 1/3 innings … The Cubs went back to the bullpen to start the eighth, and Pages greeted Hayden Wesneski with his home run … In the ninth, bloop doubles from Nolan Arenado and Ivan Herrera produced the second run for the Cardinals and Dylan Carlson followed with his second hit of the game, an RBI single, to make it a 3-0 game.
On the mound: Gibson held the Cubs to just two hits over his seven innings of work, walked one and struck out six, throwing just 88 pitches. He retired the final 15 hitters he faced and did not allow a runner past second base … The Cubs made two bids to tie the game in the eighth after Ryan Fernandez allowed a leadoff single. Pinch-runner Pete Crow-Armstrong was thrown out at the plate by Nolan Gorman on a ground ball and then pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom’s bid for a game-tying home run off JoJo Romero was caught at the wall by left fielder Brendan Donovan … Ryan Helsley issued back-to-back walks with two outs in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but he struck out Nico Hoerner to end the game and record his 23nd save.
Key stat: Gibson had been 0-4 in four career starts against the Cubs with a 6.65 ERA. His only previous start at Wrigley Field came last year when he was with the Twins and took the loss in a 3-2 game.
Worth noting: The last Cardinal to break up a scoreless game in the eighth inning or later at Wrigley Field with a home run was Paul DeJong, in the eighth on July 22, 2017 … DeJong had been the first Cardinal to do that since Mike Shannon in 1966 … Both Gorman and Jordan Walker also hit a home run in their first career game at Wrigley Field, but it was not the first home run of their careers.
Looking ahead: Andre Pallante will make his fourth start of the season in the second game of the series on Saturday while Japanese star Shota Imanaga is scheduled to start for the Cubs. Imanaga was set to start against the Cardinals in St. Louis earlier this season but the game was rained out.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
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