Jun 28, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (18) throws to a Chicago Cubs batter during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
ST. LOUIS — One could say the St. Louis Cardinals doubled down during their latest win.
Six of St. Louis’ eight hits were two-baggers, including three in a fourth inning rally that gave the Cardinals the lead for good in a 4-1 win Sunday night over the Chicago Cubs at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Catcher Yadier Molina collected a pair of doubles to lead the offense, while Carlos Martinez worked six strong innings to improve to 9-3 and stretch the Cardinals’ winning streak to six games.
Martinez allowed just two hits and a run while walking three and striking out six. St. Louis (51-24) improved to 29-7 at home and increased its National League Central lead over the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates, a 2-1 loser to the Atlanta Braves, to nine games.
Three relievers handled the last nine outs for the Cardinals, with Trevor Rosenthal pitching around two singles in the ninth for his 23rd save in 24 opportunities.
Jason Hammel (5-3) gave up six hits and four runs over four-plus innings for Chicago (39-35), issuing a walk and striking out seven. The Cubs took their fifth loss in a row and dropped 11 1/2 games off St. Louis’ blistering pace.
The early storyline was the rain, which held things up for 46 minutes before the first pitch and then for 1 hour, 43 minutes after the top of the second inning. Tornados touched down about 30 miles west of downtown St. Louis.
Following the second delay, the Cardinals scored first when first baseman Xavier Scruggs lined a two-out single to right-center in the second, plating Molina.
Chicago equalized in the third on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Anthony Rizzo that scored center fielder Dexter Fowler, who led off with a double and reached third on a wild pitch.
St. Louis snapped the tie in the fourth with RBI doubles by Jason Heyward and Molina, then made it 4-1 in the fifth when third baseman Matt Carpenter doubled home second baseman Kolten Wong.
NOTES: Chicago placed LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (inflamed left deltoid) on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 23. Wada, who left his June 22 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning, is 1-1 with a 3.73 ERA in seven starts. … To replace Wada, the Cubs activated RHP Neil Ramirez (right shoulder inflammation) following a rehab stint. Ramirez had been out since April 16. … St. Louis LHP Jaime Garcia (groin cramp) was able to throw his side session Sunday, and he could return to the rotation Thursday night against the San Diego Padres. Garcia was scheduled to start Tuesday night, but the team is skipping him in favor of RHP Lance Lynn.
