CHICAGO — Kyle Gibson pitched one hit in seven innings, Venezuelan Pedro Pagés opened the scoring starting the eighth inning for the first home run of his career and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Friday.
Pagés, who had only three hits in 28 at-bats in the Major Leagues, gave the Cardinals the lead with a drive to left field off reliever Hayden Wesneski (2-4). The 25-year-old Venezuelan pointed to the sky as he crossed the set.
Michael Busch singled to lead off the loss off Ryan Fernandez. Pinch-hitter Pete Crow-Amstrong stole second and advanced to third on a grounder, but was put out at home by second baseman Nolan Gorman, trying to score on a grounder by Panamanian Miguel Amaya with one out. JoJo Romero retired Patrick Wisdom with a fly ball to left field that Brendan Donovan caught.
The Cardinals scored twice more in the ninth.
For the Cardinals, Panamanian Iván Herrera was 3-1 with one run scored and one RBI. Venezuelan Pedro Pagés 1-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI.
For the Cubs, Panamanian Miguel Amaya is 3-1.
