Cardinals Play Best Game Of Season, Cubs Fall To Dodgers

By ESPN

Going up against the 2016 NL Cy Young winner and facing the prospect of stumbling to their worst start in 20 years, the St. Louis Cardinals played their best game of the young season.

Mike Leake outpitched Max Scherzer, Stephen Piscotty homered and had five RBI, and the Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.

After yielding 22 runs in the first two games of the series, St. Louis dodged its first 2-7 start since 1997.

"Leake did a tremendous job on the mound and we played good defense," Piscotty said. "It was a good win, and we needed it."

Leake (1-1) gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked none over seven shutout innings. The right-hander allowed hits to the first two batters, then picked off a runner before getting 19 straight outs. The streak ended when Daniel Murphy singled with two outs in the seventh.

By that time, St. Louis had taken a 3-0 lead against Scherzer, who yielded only one earned run. He did, however, throw three wild pitches -- two in the third inning -- after tossing only two all last year while going 20-7.

Scherzer (1-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out 10, the 50th time in his career he reached double figures in strikeouts.

"At the end of the day, even when you get punched in the face, you still do some things well," Scherzer said. "I was able to get a lot of swings and misses and was able to get my cut slider into lefties really well.

"Other times, I pitched ineffectively. This doesn't feel great, but I'm in a situation where I'm ready to go forward with my next start and pitch well."

With Leake leading the way, the Cardinals rebounded from a three-game skid in which they were outscored 30-9.

"It's ideal," Leake said of his performance. "It's what you ask for from a starting pitcher after you've been beat down for a couple games."

Leake permitted only two runners past first base and reduced his ERA to 0.60.

"What a great day -- seven shutout innings against this team," manager Mike Matheny said.

After Leake was pulled, Adam Eaton hit an RBI single in the eighth inning and Washington put runners at the corners with two outs before Brett Cecil got Bryce Harper to line out to third.

Piscotty's drive in the ninth ended any remaining suspense. He also had run-scoring singles in the first and fifth innings in tying his career high for RBI.

St. Louis used a walk and a double by Piscotty to go up 1-0 in the first inning.

In the bottom half, Eaton doubled and took third on a single by Anthony Rendon. Not long after that, a replay requested by the Cardinals revealed that Leake picked off Rendon.

"That's a game changer," Matheny said.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker agreed, noting, "We had him on the ropes and then the pickoff."

Leake subsequently struck out Harper and retired Murphy on a comebacker.

St. Louis took advantage of an error by shortstop Wilmer Difo to score two unearned runs in the fifth.

Dodgers 2, Cubs 0

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent the past few days watching a flag go up and the opponent get its glitzy rings in the ballpark where they lost the NL Championship Series last season.

Even so, they're more concerned about the future than the past. And they'll take more games like this.

Brandon McCarthy pitched four-hit ball over six innings, Andrew Toles hit his first leadoff homer and the Dodgers beat Chicago 2-0 on Wednesday night after the Cubs received their championship rings.

"It's 2017," Toles said. "That was last year; it's over. They can enjoy it, but we're looking forward to this year."

The Cubs put the finishing touches on a celebration that started when they beat Cleveland in Game 7 last November to win the World Series for the first time since 1908. They raised the banner Monday night and got 14-karat white gold rings with a total of 214 diamonds in a ceremony Wednesday that drew more roars from the fans at Wrigley Field.

Toles gave the Dodgers a quick lead with his drive off John Lackey to start the game, and it stayed 1-0 until the ninth.

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras bounced a wild throw to first after Toles swung at strike three in the dirt with two outs. Chase Utley, who led off with a walk against Hector Rondon, raced home from first on the error to make it 2-0, and Los Angeles closed it out after dropping three of four.

As for the Cubs?

"The celebration is over," Lackey said. "It's time to start working on a new one."

McCarthy (2-0), coming off a strong start to beat San Diego last week, struck out four and walked three. He gave up long flies to Contreras and Anthony Rizzo on a night when the wind was keeping balls in the park, and was helped by three double plays.

"They came in big situations," McCarthy said. "Keeping the ball on the ground is a positive for me and something I set out to do. Ball stays on the ground, you get a better chance at double plays."

Ross Stripling retired the side in the seventh and left with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth after striking out Jon Jay on a 3-2 pitch. Luis Avilan then fanned Kyle Schwarber to end the inning.

Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his second save, after giving up Rizzo's game-winning single Monday night.

Lackey (1-1) held the Dodgers to a run and four hits over six innings. The veteran right-hander struck out 10 and walked three. He threw 106 pitches -- 32 in the first inning, when he escaped a bases-loaded jam.

Mike Montgomery worked two scoreless innings for Chicago. The Dodgers loaded the bases against him in the eighth before pinch-hitter Justin Turner, batting for Joc Pederson, grounded into a double play to end the threat.

White Sox 2, Indians 1

Derek Holland has turned Progressive Field into his own personal playground.

Holland held Cleveland hitless until the sixth inning and late fill-in Matt Davidson had a two-run single that helped the Chicago White Sox beat the Indians 2-1 Wednesday night.

Holland (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor in the sixth. The White Sox lefty struck out four, walked four and threw 101 pitches in six innings.

"Every inning I had fans yelling at me from the fourth on, telling me `Hey, you've got a no-hitter,' and I was like `Thanks, Captain Obvious, I kind of know that."`

Holland is 4-0 with a 1.02 ERA in five starts at Progressive Field. He is 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 10 career starts against Cleveland.

Pitching in Cleveland's ballpark is something personal to Holland, a native of Newark, Ohio, about a two-hour drive away. Several family members and friends made the trip, and Holland dedicated the game to his grandmother, who passed away during spring training.

"I wrote `Granny' on the back of the mound," he said. "That was our name for her. It meant a lot. I'll be writing it all year just because it was somebody that I really care about. She was like a mom to me, too."

David Robertson pitched the ninth for his first save.

Davidson, added to the lineup when third baseman Todd Frazier was scratched with flu-like symptoms, drove in two runs with a single in the second.

Danny Salazar (0-1) struck out 11, matching a career high, in six innings.

Cleveland scored in the eighth. Carlos Santana led off with a single against Nate Jones and Lindor hit another double. Michael Brantley's RBI groundout moved Lindor to third, but Edwin Encarnacion struck out and Jose Ramirez grounded out.

Salazar walked Cody Asche and allowed Avisail Garcia's double in the second, setting up Davidson's hit.

Wednesday, April 12 Scoreboard

New York Yankees 8, Tampa Bay 4

Detroit 5, Minnesota 3

San Diego 6, Colorado 0

St. Louis 6, Washington 1

Chicago White Sox 2, Cleveland 1

New York Mets 5, Philadelphia 4

Cincinnati 9, Pittsburgh 2

Milwaukee 2, Toronto 0

Baltimore 12, Boston 5

Atlanta 5, Miami 4

Los Angeles Dodgers 2, Chicago Cubs 0

Oakland 8, Kansas City 3

Texas 8, Los Angeles Angels 3

Houston 10, Seattle 5

San Francisco 6, Arizona 2

Thursday, April 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Minnesota at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Boston, 1:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Texas at Los Angeles Angels, 2:37 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland, 5:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Oakland at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

Colorado at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.

Friday, April 14 Schedule (All Times Central)

Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 3:05 p.m.

St. Louis at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Boston, 6;10 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

San Diego at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

Colorado at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.

Saturday, April 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

St. Louis at New York Yankees, 12:05 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 12:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 12:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Boston, 3:05 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Colorado at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 3:10 p.m.

San Diego at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 8:10 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10 p.m.

Sunday, April 16 Schedule (All Times Central)

Baltimore at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 12:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 12:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Boston, 12:35 p.m.

San Diego at Atlanta, 12:35 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 12:35 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City, 1:15 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Colorado at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 3:10 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 3:10 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3:10 p.m.

St. Louis at New York Yankees, 7 p.m.