THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 19, 2020 at 13:45 JST
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Yu Darvish pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 18 in Chicago. (AP Photo)
CHICAGO--Yu Darvish pitched six effective innings in his fourth straight win, and the banged-up Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Darvish allowed one run and eight hits while improving to 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA since he struggled in his first start of the season July 25 against Milwaukee--matching his career-best win streak. The Japanese right-hander struck out seven and walked one.
St. Louis pushed across two runs in the eighth and had runners on the corners when pinch hitter Andrew Knizner looked at a called third strike from Rowan Wick, ending the inning. Wick then worked the ninth for his fourth save.
Chicago played without Kris Bryant after the slugger got an injection for his ailing left wrist, sidelining the 2016 NL MVP for at least two days. The NL Central leaders also placed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.
Paul Goldschmidt had three hits for St. Louis, including a two-out RBI single in the fifth. But the Cardinals wasted a couple of prime scoring opportunities while falling to 3-3 since returning from a coronavirus outbreak that put their season on hold for more than two weeks.
The longtime rivals conclude their unusual five-game series with another doubleheader Wednesday. They split two seven-inning games on Monday.
The Cubs jumped in front when Ian Happ led off the third with an opposite-field shot to left for his fifth homer, matching Anthony Rizzo for the team lead. Kyle Schwarber added a two-run homer in the fifth, making it 4-1 with a drive deep into the bleachers in right.
Jason Heyward also had an RBI triple for Chicago against Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-2), who allowed two runs and three hits in 3 1/3 innings.
St. Louis put runners on the corners in the second, but Matt Wieters bounced into an inning-ending double play. Darvish (4-1) also escaped a jam in the fourth, retiring three in a row after the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs.
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