• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Holliday, Lohse lead Cards over Cubs

Jul 21, 2012 - 5:53 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Matt Holliday homered and scored twice to back seven innings of one-run ball from Kyle Lohse as the St. Louis Cardinals downed the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

Lohse (10-2) scattered six hits and a walk with four strikeouts to win his fourth straight decision. Jason Motte tossed a perfect ninth to record his 21st save of the year.

"When you can go out there less than your best and get through seven (innings) and give your team a chance, for me, it just shows that I have an idea of what I'm trying to do out there," Lohse said.

Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and Lance Berkman also knocked in a run for the Cardinals, who had dropped five of their last six.

Ryan Dempster (5-4) surrendered all four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings to snap a six-start win streak.

Darwin Barney knocked in the lone run for Chicago, which had won seven of its last nine.

Dempster entered the game with a 33-inning scoreless streak dating back to June 5, but the Cardinals quickly ended it in their first at-bat with three straight one-out singles by Allen Craig, Holliday and Beltran, scoring Craig.

Molina followed with a base hit to plate Holliday before Berkman's grounder to first scored Beltran to hand St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

The Cubs answered with a run in the second when Bryan LaHair worked a leadoff walk, advanced to third on Steve Clevenger's single and came home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Barney.

The Cardinals, though, got that run back in the third inning on Holliday's tape-measure home run to left field that went an estimated 469 feet to make it a 4-1 game.

"It just went far, it was a far homer," Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said of Holliday's shot. "He hit it very well. When I looked over my head, it was almost out of the ball park."

St. Louis would later leave the bases loaded in the third, but those runs would not prove necessary as Chicago failed to advance a runner past first base until Alfonso Soriano's two-out double off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth inning.

However, Marc Rzepczynski entered next and fanned pinch-hitter Jeff Baker to end the frame, and Motte needed just six pitches to retire the side in the ninth.

Game Notes

Lohse improved to 3-4 in 15 career starts against Chicago...Dempster fell to 8-9 in 49 career meetings -- 23 starts -- against the Cardinals...The Cubs hit 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base...St. Louis went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine...The Cardinals now lead the season series, 5-4.