Cardinals beat Arrieta, Cubs to complete 3-game sweep

The Cardinals took their season back from the brink with a 7-2 victory Wednesday that capped their first three-game sweep at Wrigley Field in 28 years.

St. Louis, like just about every other team that had faced Arrieta, struggled against the Cubs ace, who was below his best, issuing four walks and needing 106 pitches to get through five innings, but giving up only one earned run. With 10 at-bats between the two, he held them to on hit and had one strikeout against them. They now trail the Cubs by 9 ½ games after completing their first three-game sweep at Wrigley Field since 1988. The Cubs (47-23) saw their losing streak reach three.

Wacha last won on April 23, when the Cardinals posted an 11-2 victory over the Padres. Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the second consecutive day and scored with an acrobatic slide to help Syndergaard (8-2) win his sixth consecutive decision.

The 2015 Cardinals were most similar to the 2013 team – they won 100 games and paced the league in 2015.

Russell Martin hit a three-run homer and Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki added solo shots for the Blue Jays while the Diamondbacks left nine runners on base.

The Yankees used their hard-throwing late-inning trio of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman.

They head to Seattle and Kansas City before returning home, with a chance to parlay their recent wins into a sustained run of success.

The Cubs are now 0-5 in the final game of homestands this season.

The Marlins improved to 1-4 against the Braves this year at Marlins Park.

Carlos Martinez is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA over the last four weeks.

Conley (4-4) threw 114 pitches – two short of his season high. In fact, they were just 71-63 at one point.

Chicago entered the series the darlings of baseball. Roberto Osuna pitched a ideal ninth to earn his 14th save of the season.

Carpenter and Holliday connected against Hammel (7-3) in a three-run third inning that made it 4-1. “The error, that ended up being the difference in the game”. Atlanta swept the Mets this past weekend and send Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.23 ERA) to the mound to make it four in a row against the defending NL champions. Archer’s three runs on two hits and two walks in the first moved his first-inning ERA to 10.69 for the season. It’s also career home run No. 424, placing him 49th all time to pass the Rangers’ Adrian Beltre.

Brandon Moss, who had a rally-starting double off Chicago’s bullpen, walked twice against Arrieta. The Astros have won seven of their last eight and 20 of 28 since opening the season 17-28. In his previous six starts against the Cardinals, it was 3.19.

Matt Adams is 6 for 18 with two doubles and four RBIs against Arrieta in his career.

It is also worth noting that the up-and-coming catcher in Contreras blasted a two-run home run, his second as a big league player, during his lone at bat in favor of his veteran counterpart.

In the bottom of the inning, Eduardo Escobar lined a two-run triple that Phillies right fielder Peter Bourjos misjudged.

Kyle Ryan got the win after he came on with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth and struck out pinch-hitter Franklin Gutierrez and got Robinson Cano to ground out to end the inning.

For three games, they put everything together at once. None of the four relievers gave up a hit, and starter Michael Fulmer gave up just three. That’s what the Cardinals did, forcing him through long, draining innings that got his manager fretting about his pitch count. Moss singles and Piscotty scores, Cardinals tie with Cubs 1-1 with two outs. Bogaerts finished 3-for-5. Two runs scored on the play.