Jason Hammel had several dominant innings today, including the first, in which he struck out the side. But he was, overall, uneven, and got blown up in the second inning to the tune of four runs (two of which came on a two-out, two-strike single by the opposing pitcher). That wound up being enough for the Cardinals to win, despite a solid showing by the Cubs’ bullpen, and a few nice opportunities for the Cubs’ bats late.
Starlin Castro and Luis Valbuena had great games at the plate, which was swell. Jose Veras made a scoreless appearance, too!
Setting aside the loss for a moment, I did see something (twice) that I loved …