Cards vie to ‘finish strong’ vs. Cubs in series finale
After scoring 36 runs during a six-game span, the St. Louis Cardinals suffered an offensive lull during their 5-1 loss to the visiting Chicago Cubs on Friday. They rebounded Saturday by scoring 16 runs on 24 hits while completing a sweep of a doubleheader. The Cardinals will try to carry that offense into the finale of the four-game set against the Cubs on Sunday. The game is the teams’ last before the All-Star break.
“We want to finish strong and (Sunday) is a big day,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. The Cardinals offense got into gear with a nine-run first inning in Game 1 Saturday, which propelled St. Louis to an 11-3 win. “The reset was good,” Marmol said. “(Friday) was a tough one offensively. We came out of the gates, they made some mistakes, but also we had a good approach taking advantage of it.”
In Game 2, Masyn Winn and Willson Contreras each belted a solo homer in the first inning and Nolan Arenado added a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth as the Cardinals rallied for a 5-4 win. St. Louis on Sunday will start Miles Mikolas (7-7, 4.88 ERA), who made a key midseason adjustment by lowering his arm angle while pitching. Mikolas has allowed just two runs on 11 hits in 12 1/3 innings over his last two starts after yielding 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits during an 11-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 27.
