By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardinals bats were stymied by the Chicago Cubs pitching staff, being held to just one hit by starter Clay Holmes, and three hits overall in a 3-0 shutout loss at Wrigley Field.
Holmes had a no hit bid against the Redbirds through just over five innings, before José Fermín singled with one out in the sixth inning. Holmes forced César Prieto to ground into a forceout, and JJ Wetherholt to ground out to end the inning. After retiring Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson to start the seventh, Holmes walked Jordan Walker ending his day. Bryan Torres singled off Ryan Zeferjahn in the eighth and Herrera singled off Jacob Webb in the ninth for the other two hits.
Matthew Liberatore also pitched effectively for the Cardinals, until the sixth inning. Liberatore retired the first 13 batters he faced before giving up a single to Nico Hoerner in the fifth inning. He bounced back striking out Ian Happ and Carson Kelly to end the fifth. In the sixth, Liberatore walked Tyrone Taylor to lead off the frame and gave up a single to Dansby Swanson, moving Taylor to third after he stole second. Liberatore forced Pete Crow Armstrong to pop out and was replaced by George Soriano.
With Soriano on the mound, Swanson stole second base, and on a 2-1 count, Seiya Suzuki hit his 21st home run of the season for, driving in Taylor and Swanson, for the only runs the Cubs would need. Soriano walked Alex Bregman and surrendered a single to Michael Busch, but then got Hoerner to ground into a double play ending the inning. Liberatore was charged with the loss, falling to 5-10 on the season, giving up two runs on two hits, walking one and striking out six in 5.1 innings.
When the Cardinals resume their series with the Cubs tomorrow, there is expected to be a new face in the dugout. According to Manager Oliver Marmol, outfielder Joshua Báez is set to make his major league debut on Saturday. Báez, the Cardinals No. 3 prospect and No. 59 overall per MLB Pipeline, has had a big season in Triple A Memphis, recording 34 home runs, 90 RBIs, and a .901 OPS in 103 games, batting .256. The 34 homers from Báez are the most of any player in Triple-A and are tied for the second most in the Minor Leagues.
Michael McGreevy (4-9, 3.64 ERA, 85Ks) will take the mound for the Cardinals tomorrow facing off with Matthew Boyd (8-1, 3.50 ERA, 66Ks) for the Cubs. First pitch is at 1:20pm, coverage will begin at 1:10pm on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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