Cardinals 6, Cubs 1: Lance Lynn pitched six innings of three-hit ball and Matt Holliday and Allen Craig each drove in a pair of runs as host St. Louis took three of four from Chicago.
Lynn (10-1) struck out six and allowed one run while walking two to win his fifth straight decision since losing a pitchers' duel against the Cubs on May 7. The Cardinals remain atop the National League Central, 3 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh and four clear of Cincinnati.
Cubs starter Scott Feldman (6-6) was charged with five runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. Two of those runs scored after he exited, as Craig's pinch-hit single against Hector Rondon pushed home two inherited runners with two outs in the sixth.
Holliday gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead with a seeing-eye single through the left side in the third and set off the four-run sixth with a solo shot to center on a first-pitch sinker from Feldman. Craig pinch hit for Lynn and broke it open with his two-run single, and Matt Carpenter followed with an RBI single to cap the scoring.
Welington Castillo went 3-for-4 for the Cubs, including a homer into the first row of the center-field bleachers leading off the third. Chicago's best chance for a big inning came in the fifth, when Castillo and Darwin Barney had back-to-back singles with one out and Luis Valbuena drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but Yadier Molina made a nice catch in foul territory to retire Starlin Castro and end the threat.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cubs dropped to 9-24 against NL Central opponents, the worst record in the majors within the division. … Molina went 1-for-2 to raise his average to .366, tops in the majors. He also walked twice and scored two runs. … The first through sixth spots in Chicago's lineup combined to go 1-for-22, with the only hit being Anthony Rizzo's one-out single in the ninth.
Chi. Cubs | St. Louis | |
Scott Feldman | Player | Lance Lynn |
Loss | W/L | Win |
5.1 | IP | 6.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 6 |
6 | Hits | 3 |
8.44 | ERA | 1.50 |
Chi. Cubs | St. Louis | |
Welington Castillo | Player | Matt Holliday |
3 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 2 |
1 | HR | 1 |
6 | TB | 5 |
.750 | Avg | .500 |