Cardinals winning streak: Home run barrage in doubleheader pushes winning streak to 14

The St. Louis Cardinals on Friday prevailed over the Cubs at Wrigley Subject in each ends of the doubleheader. With the victories, the surging Cardinals pushed their present win streak to 14 video games and tightened their already agency grip on the second and ultimate Nationwide League wild card spot. 

The 14-game win streak, which started on Sept. 11 with a win over the Reds, is now tied for the longest in Cardinals franchise historical past. The opposite 14-game streak occurred July 2 by July 18, 1935. 

Moreover, this successful streak is now the longest in Main League Baseball this season. There have been two 13-game streaks from American League groups: the Oakland Athletics (Could) and the New York Yankees (August).

Within the first recreation Friday, the Cardinals won 8-5, powered by sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill, as every tallied his thirtieth house run. Goldschmidt has now hit 30 or extra homers in a season on six events. For O’Neill, it is his first 30-homer marketing campaign. Of observe is that O’Neill’s Friday afternoon house run traveled an estimated 454 ft and left Wrigley Subject: 

The nightcap was extra of the identical, with the Cardinals winning 12-4. O’Neill hit his thirty first homer of the yr. Lars Nootbar went deep twice whereas Harrison Bader and Paul DeJong additionally homered. 

Goldschmidt, now batting .294/.363/.513 on the season, and O’Neill, now batting .280/.349/.543, have keyed the offensive assault in the course of the Cardinals’ present streak, and one or each of them could also be line for a top-10 end within the NL MVP balloting. On the mound, deadline addition J.A. Happ tossed 4 scoreless in opposition to the Cubs regardless of strolling 4 batters within the afternoon recreation. 

Within the night time recreation, Jack Flaherty served as an opener whereas Dakota Hudson made his 2021 debut as he has returned from Tommy John surgical procedure. Neither fared rather well, however the offense offered loads of help. 

The wins push the Cardinals to 85-69 on the yr. They’ve rendered the remainder of the wild card discipline moot, as they now have a 99+ p.c likelihood to make the playoffs, per SportsLine projections. Nobody else is inside 5 video games of them and the Cardinals solely have eight video games left and 5 of these come in opposition to the Cubs. 

Friday’s wins, nevertheless, probably got here at a value for the Cardinals. Shortstop Edmundo Sosa was struck on the precise hand/wrist space by a Tommy Nance sinker. Sosa, in apparent ache, instantly eliminated himself from the sport and was changed on the bases and later on the place by Paul DeJong. The Cardinals have mentioned it would not seem there is a fracture, however they will re-evaluate within the coming days.