Call it a London Series split. The St. Louis Cardinals erased an early 4-0 deficit against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday to earn a 7-5 victory (box score) in the finale of the two-game London Series. The Cubs won 9-1 on Saturday.
This series had plenty of scoring, though it was not nearly as hectic as the 2019 London Series, when the New York Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox by the scores of 17-13 and 12-8. This was a challenging series for defenders -- the London Stadium turf was very bouncy and the start times made for difficult shadows -- and shaky defense was a common theme Sunday.
Here are four takeaways from Sunday's London Series finale, plus a quick look ahead at the future of the London Series and what's next for the Cardinals and Cubs.
1. The Cubs took a big early lead
Early on, it looked like the Cubs were poised to run away Sunday the same way they ran away on Saturday, when they hammered Adam Wainwright for seven runs on 11 hits and a walk in three innings. Wainwright threw 71 pitches and got only five swings and misses, and did not strike out any of the 19 batters he faced.
On Sunday, the Cubs jumped on Cardinals rookie southpaw Matthew Liberatore for four runs in the first inning, including three run-scoring hits with two outs. St. Louis contributed to the rally with a trio of defensive misplays despite being charged with only two errors. Here's the four-run first:
Shortstop Paul DeJong bobbled a would-be groundout, second baseman Nolan Gorman couldn't handle the throw on a stolen base attempt, then third baseman Nolan Arenado let a hard-hit grounder get past him. The Cardinals typically rank among the best defensive teams in baseball, but not this year. Their defense has been dreadful in 2023 and it hurt them in the first inning Sunday.
Chicago jumped out a 4-0 lead before ace and leading NL Cy Young candidate Marcus Stroman took the mound. They were in excellent shape, or at least that was thought to the case.
2. The Cardinals stormed back
That 4-0 lead lasted only briefly. The Cardinals pushed three runs across in the second after a crucial two-out error -- Tommy Edman (one run) and Brendan Donovan (two runs) had RBI singles -- as five batters reached against Stroman in a seven-batter span. In the fourth, rookie Jordan Walker tied the game with an RBI single to center.
Walker, it should be noted, extended his hitting streak to 15 games with that RBI single. He had a record 12-game hitting streak to begin the season and now he's working on a 15-gamer. Since returning from Triple-A on June 2, he is hitting .333/.413/.561. He's hitting .302/.366/.475 on the season overall. What an impressive year for the 21-year-old.
The Cardinals took the lead in the fourth inning on a Paul Goldschmidt single -- Lars Nootbaar followed with a sacrifice fly -- which ended Stroman's day. Stroman exited with a blister, the Cubs announced, and he was ultimately charged with six runs (three earned) on nine hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings.
Stroman threw 64 pitches before the blister became an issue. Ten of the final 15 batters he faced reached base.
3. The Cardinals bullpen stood tall
The Cubs tagged Liberatore for four runs in 2 1/3 innings Sunday, so while he was better than Wainwright, Liberatore wasn't exactly good. The Cardinals were forced to lean heavily on their bullpen for the second successive day, and five relievers held the Cubs to one run in 5 2/3 innings. That run scored on a sac fly with two outs in the ninth, so about as harmless as can be with a three-run lead.
Check out the St. Louis bullpen on Sunday:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RHP Jake Woodford | 2 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
LHP Génesis Cabrera | 1 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
RHP Andre Pallante | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
RHP Jordan Hicks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 6 2/3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
That's solid work by a Cardinals bullpen that has been dicey at times this season. The four-run comeback is the second largest for St. Louis in 2023. They erased a five-run deficit against the Washington Nationals this past Monday. Even with the victory, the Cardinals are in the NL Central cellar at 32-45. Perhaps they can build off this comeback?
As for the Cubs, the Sunday setback halted a four-game winning streak and prevented them from reaching .500 for the first time since they were 19-19 on May 12. Chicago is 37-39 on the season. They've won 11 of their past 14 games even with this loss.
4. Contreras had a great game against his former team
Willson Contreras' first season with the Cardinals is not going as expected. He lost the starting catcher's job for a spell a few weeks ago and he took an underwhelming .207/.298/.364 batting line to London. Contreras has posted strong underlying numbers (exit velocity, etc.), but we're nearing the season's midpoint here. He needs actual hits now.
The hits arrived Sunday. Contreras went 4 for 4 with a double and two runs scored Sunday. It is his first four-hit game with St. Louis and heck, he had only one three-hit game this year entering play Sunday. That three-hit game was this past Tuesday, so perhaps Contreras is finally starting to come around? The Cardinals surely hope so.
In five games this season Contreras is 7 for 19 (.368) with two doubles against the Cubs. Contreras of course broke into the big leagues with the Cubbies and spent parts of seven seasons on Chicago's North Side. He even started Game 7 of the 2016 World Series behind the plate. Now he's on the other side of the rivalry and he had a great day in the London Series finale.
Up next
The 2023 London Series is over. MLB will return to England next summer, when the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies meet in the 2024 London Series. As for the Cardinals and Cubs, they're both heading home and will take Monday off. The Cardinals will welcome the Houston Astros to Busch Stadium for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. The Cubs will play host to the Phillies for three games at Wrigley Field beginning Tuesday.
