Joshua Baez turned this one into his own showcase. The Cardinals outfielder hit three home runs, and every time Chicago threatened to make it a game, he had an answer. St. Louis walked out of Wrigley Field with an 8-4 win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| CHC | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
Baez finished 3-for-4 with three home runs and five RBIs. His first came in the first inning to cap a three-run frame. He struck again in the fourth with a solo shot that put St. Louis back on top for good, and he added a two-run blast in the sixth that pushed the margin to four. His night carried a .750 average with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs this season, a small sample that nonetheless tells the story of this game.
The Cardinals never trailed for long. Wetherholt scored in the first when Burleson grounded into a fielder's choice, and Báez followed with a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Chicago answered in the second when Conforto homered to right, scoring Hoerner and Ramirez to tie it at 3-3. But Báez's solo shot in the fourth put St. Louis back in front, 4-3, and the Cardinals never let go. Burleson scored again in the sixth on Báez's third homer, and Jordan added one of his own later that inning to make it 7-3. Burleson tacked on a solo homer in the eighth before Bregman's double-play grounder brought home Suzuki for Chicago's final run.
Matt Boyd took the loss for Chicago, allowing 7 runs on 5 hits over 5.1 innings with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. He is now 8-2 on the season with a 4.02 ERA. Michael McGreevy earned the win for St. Louis, working 6.0 innings and allowing 3 runs, none earned, on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts. He improved to 5-9 with a 3.48 ERA. Conforto's three-run homer was Chicago's best answer, but the offense could not sustain enough pressure against a Cardinals lineup that kept finding the seats.
St. Louis improved to 62-61 and snapped a losing skid by winning its most recent game. Chicago fell to 72-52, dropping its latest decision.