ST. LOUIS — The Chicago Cubs were set up well heading into Saturday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Riding a five-game winning streak, the rotation allowed only two total runs to begin the road trip while the pitching staff’s 32 consecutive scoreless innings streak, which ended in the ninth inning Friday, tied their road franchise record set in 1908 and was the longest overall since 1971.
And then came the bottom of the first inning in Game 1.
St. Louis put up nine runs — just two earned — off right-hander Hayden Wesneski in the opening frame to put the game away early in the Cubs’ 11-3 loss.
Sloppy defense played a big role in the inning getting away from Wesneski and the Cubs (46-50). A Wesneski error on a wild throw to second, an attempted fielder’s choice by third baseman Miles Mastrobuno who didn’t record an out and a Wesneski fielding error led to three runs on three weak balls in play that featured an expected average ranging from .060 to .260.
“It makes it a lot harder when you’re giving a team six outs,” manager Craig Counsell said. ” … We just couldn’t finish the inning.”
The inning turned, however, when Wesneski hit Michael Siani with a 2-2 sweeper to bring home a run. Wesneski had given himself a chance to escape with St. Louis only up 3-1. He struck out Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pagés after his second error of the inning. But his errant pitch to Siani proved costly. Masyn Winn followed with an RBI single in his second at-bat of the inning and Alec Burleson delivered a three-run home run to cap the nightmarish inning.
Wesneski became the 16th Cubs pitcher since 1901 to have seven unearned or more runs in a game and the first since Chuck Rainey (May 31, 1984, at Philadelphia Phillies).
“I was the one who really messed it up starting with the sailed throw to second,” Wesneski said. “Still competed, still got weak contact. It’s one of those things where one thing goes right we’re in a different game. The home run in the end was just kind of the nail in the coffin.
“I was grinding my butt off and left one pitch over the middle and (Burleson) hit it. It could have been a different game if that first inning goes away.”
The Cardinals started with three consecutive singles to tie the game, erasing Seiya Suzuki’s solo home run and Cubs lead from the top of the first. Wesneski needed 40 pitches to get out of the first, and with a second game to still play Saturday night and right-hander Javier Assad on a pitch count in his first start off the injured list, he had to wear it.
Counsell got four innings from Wesneski, who ultimately gave up 10 hits, 11 runs (four earned), one walk and four strikeouts.
“Just get ahead and throw strikes,” Wesneski said of his mentality after the first. “Can’t have walks from now until I get pulled. So it was just filling it up at that point and if punchouts come, punchouts come, but I was trying to get first-pitch outs and make them swing and they still made me work. So, I mean, kudos to them, but I was trying to get through five, six but you know four is what we got.”
The Cubs optioned Ethan Roberts to Triple-A Iowa between games for Daniel Palencia to get a fresh arm after the right-hander threw two scoreless innings. They are also without lefty Luke Little for at least 15 days, putting him on the injured list with a shoulder strain. He departed Friday night’s game in the middle of an at-bat when he felt something on the last pitch he threw. Counsell said the Cubs expect to learn more about his injury during the upcoming All-Star break.