{"id":44962,"date":"2017-09-27T08:04:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T08:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=44962"},"modified":"2017-09-27T08:04:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T08:04:53","slug":"cardinals-keep-cubs-from-clinching-nl-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/cardinals-keep-cubs-from-clinching-nl-central.html","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals keep Cubs from clinching NL Central"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cardinals keep Cubs from clinching NL Central<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Cardinals keep Cubs from clinching NL Central:- The Chicago Cubs went into Tuesday night\u2019s game against St. Louis with a chance to clinch the NL Central. The Cardinals did everything they could to keep that from happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cardinals hit four home runs and were able to withstand a late Cubs\u2019 rally for an 8-7 victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they did a real nice job putting the pressure on early and keeping it going,\u201d Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. \u201cThat\u2019s the team we\u2019ve got \u2014 they are going to keep coming. You might see a day like we had yesterday, not many of them, but we came back out and we needed everything we had today and they left it all out there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk homered and drove in two runs each and Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko also homered for St. Louis, which remains 2\u00bd games behind the second Wild Card spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zach Duke (1-1) got the win with 1\u2154 innings of scoreless relief. Juan Nicasio earned his fifth save.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cardinals scored five runs in the first two innings off Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, a scoring burst started by Carpenter\u2019s lead-off home run, his 23rd, and capped by Pham\u2019s two-run homer, his 23rd.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can certainly just show up today flat and roll over and just let them have their way with you but when you come out like we did, boom, 5-1 and send a message like \u2018Hey we\u2019re not just going to give this to you,\u2019 \u201d Carpenter said. \u201cThat being said you have to credit to them. They never quit either. It was a grind and certainly they\u2019re going to fight to the end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cubs were seeking to clinch the NL Central division with either a win or a Milwaukee loss against Cincinnati, but the Brewers beat the Reds 7-6.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the comeback, I loved the energy,\u201d Cubs manager Joe Madden said. \u201cJake had a tough night. We continued to battle all the way through. . There were a lot of positives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez allowed three runs (two earned) and four hits in 4\u2153 innings. Arrieta (14-10) allowed five runs (three earned) and six hits in three innings, his second shortest outing this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gyorko and Grichuk both hit solo home runs in the seventh, extending the Cardinals\u2019 lead to 8-3. Gyorko\u2019s home run was his 20th. Grichuk\u2019s his 21st.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jason Heyward hit a three-run home run, his 11th, off reliever John Brebbia in the eighth to cut the deficit to 8-6. Ben Zobrist hit a solo homer off Brebbia, his 12th, to make it 8-7.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cubs had the tying run on second base with two outs in the ninth but Nicassio struck out Javier Baez to secure the victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

YADIER MOLINA OUT<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardinals C Yadier Molina left Monday\u2019s game after taking two foul balls to the catcher\u2019s mask. He\u2019s expected to rest 48 hours, as part of the concussion protocol, and will then be re-evaluated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been hit in the head many times but not twice in a row like last night,\u201d Molina said. \u201cLast night was pretty bad. I was in pain. I was confused. The nausea went away. I\u2019m resting for two days then we are going to test it again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

TRAINER\u2019S ROOM<\/span><\/p>\n

Cubs: 2B Baez (knee soreness) left Monday\u2019s game after fouling a pitch off his right leg and was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday but pinch hit in the ninth. \u2026 CF Albert Almora left the game in the fifth after stumbling and falling into the center field wall while chasing Paul DeJong\u2019s double. The Cubs announced he had a right shoulder contusion and X-rays were negative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardinals: 1B Jose Martinez (thumb) returned as a pinch-hitter after missing the previous three games. \u2026 Pham was pinch-hit for in the eighth inning. The Cardinals announced he had a left side contusion after being hit by a pitch in the sixth inning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe seems confident that it just kind of spasmed up, right on the spot where he was hit, and we\u2019re hopeful for tomorrow,\u201d Matheny said.<\/span><\/p>\n

UP NEXT<\/span><\/p>\n

Cubs: RHP John Lackey (11-11, 4.67) is 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break. The Cubs are 11-2 in Lackey\u2019s last 13 starts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (12-8, 4.00) is 4-6 with a 6.32 ERA in 15 career games, including 13 starts, against the Cubs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2017\/09\/27\/cardinals-deny-cubs-from-clinching\/106034844\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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