CHICAGO (AP) – Paul Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Corey Dickerson went deep twice and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Chicago Cubs 14-5 on Friday.
Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar also went deep as the Cardinals rolled to their fourth win in five games.
Goldschmidt hit a three-run drive in the third for his 12th home run. The six-time All-Star closed in on his career-high 26-game hitting streak with Arizona in 2013 and extended a personal best by reaching base in his 39th consecutive game.
Goldschmidt has 10 homers and 36 RBIs in his last 22 games, a stretch that began May 11. He has a National League-leading .349 average and 47 RBIs, tied for the NL lead with the Mets’ Pete Alonso.
Dickerson sparked a five-run fourth against Marcus Stroman (2-5) when he lined a tiebreaking solo shot to right or his first homer. He and Nootbaar hit back-to-back solo homers in the against Frank Schwindel, who took the mound in the ninth after starting as the designated hitter.
Gorman launched a long three-run drive in the fourth to make it 9-4.
Tommy Edman singled three times and scored three runs. Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado each had two hits. Bader – celebrating his 28th birthday – also scored twice.
Miles Mikolas (4-3) allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings. Zack Thompson pitched four innings in his major league debut and earned a save.
Stroman, coming off a string of strong starts, got pounded for a career-high nine runs and 10 hits in four innings. The right-hander had a 1.80 ERA in his previous five outings.
Patrick Wisdom hit a three-run homer in the first and RBI single in the seventh. Rookie Christopher Morel extended a club record by reaching base in his first 17 games, when he singled and scored in the third. But the Cubs had their three-game win streak snapped.
TRANSACTIONS
The Cardinals shuffled their bullpen, recalling right-hander Johan Oviedo and selecting Thompson’s contract from Triple-A Memphis. They optioned lefty Matthew Liberatore and righty Kodi Whitley to the minor league club.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: 2B Nolan Gorman was back in the lineup as the designated hitter after missing the previous three games because of lower back tightness. … OFs Tyler O’Neill (right shoulder impingement) and Dylan Carlson (strained left hamstring) were to begin rehab assignments – O’Neill with Triple-A Memphis and Carlson with Double-A Springfield.
Cubs: C Willson Contreras was out of the lineup after being hit in the left ankle by a pitch Thursday, though he was available off the bench. … RHP Adbert Alzolay (strained right shoulder) was to resume playing catch in Arizona. He is on the 60-day IL.
UP NEXT
The five-game, four-day series continues with a split doubleheader. Both teams were waiting to announce their starters, though Cubs manager David Ross acknowledged Caleb Killian – acquired from San Francisco last season in the deal that sent former MVP Kris Bryant to the Giants – was a possibility for one of the games.
The first broadcast begins at 11:25 with Ameren Total Access, and the first pitch is at 12:20. The second broadcast starts at 5:20 with gametime set for 6:15. Both games can be heard on KTLO-AM.
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