The Chicago Cubs Fall Just Short Against the Cardinals in Classic Pitcher's Duel

After capturing a series win over the weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs looked to continue their recently found momentum on Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Trying to build upon his successful run of starts in the month of August, Chicago sent left-hander Drew Smyly to the mound. For seven innings of one-run baseball, Smyly proved that he was up to the task.

There was only one problem: Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery was even better.

Behind Montgomery's complete game performance, St. Louis narrowly defeated Chicago on Monday night by a score of 1-0. With Monday's victory, the Cardinals have now won eight games in a row and take a commanding 5.5-game lead in the NL Central over Milwaukee.

It became evident early on that both offenses were stifled by the starting pitchers. Both teams combined for just three hits through the first six innings. Chicago didn’t have their first hit of the game until a two-out double by Christopher Morel in the bottom of the third inning.

It would be Chicago’s only hit of the game.

In a game that felt as if the first team to score would win, Cardinals veteran Albert Pujols took Smyly deep for a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning to give the Cardinals a one-run lead.

It was all Jordan Montgomery needed.

Montgomery, making only his fourth start with St. Louis after being dealt to them from the Yankees on August 2, delivered a nine-inning shutout with seven strikeouts. The performance is the 29-year-old's first complete game of his career.

For Pujols, the go-ahead home run is his 14th on the season, but even more impressively, his seventh home run in his last ten games. The future Hall of Famer now sits at 693 career home runs.

Chicago entered the night with plenty of hot bats in their lineup. However, no Cubbies hitters proved to be a match for the dominant performance of Montgomery, as he dazzled on the mound while throwing just 99 pitches.

While Smyly in many ways matched Montgomery’s performance, despite his loss it’s encouraging to see the right-hander perform so well against a powerhouse Cardinals lineup. The red-hot Paul Goldschmidt went 0-for-4 at the plate after collecting a 1.308 OPS in his last 12 games.

As the two teams continue their five-game series, Tuesday will offer a doubleheader.

Game one begins at 2:20 p.m. EST with the Cubs sending starting pitcher Javier Assad to the mound for his Major League debut. Right-handed veteran Adam Wainwright pitches for St. Louis.

Game two begins at 8:05 p.m. EST and it’s a righty-righty matchup. Adrian Sampson goes for Chicago, while Jake Woodford goes for the Cards’. 

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