CHICAGO _ For those who had wondered about the effort of Cardinals right fielder Dexter Fowler, including a prominent front office executive, it must be reported that Fowler was seen jogging while running the bases Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
From home to first, he ran hard enough. But he loped from first to second. And second to third. And third to home, with a stutter step thrown in. And why not?
Fowler was celebrating the fourth grand slam of his career, a drive off Chicago White Sox left-hander Hector Santiago, the fourth pitcher Chicago employed in a ghastly seven-run, three-hit sixth inning. The White Sox cooperated handsomely by walking four hitters, throwing a wild pitch and their catcher contributed a passed ball in the frame that made All-Star Miles Mikolas's path to his 10th win a lot easier in a 14-2 Cardinals romp.
Fowler hadn't always helped Mikolas. His first grand slam had come off the Cardinals' right-hander on Sept. 1, 2012 when Mikolas toiled for San Diego and Fowler played for Colorado.
It might be viewed as a small step but the Cardinals have ensured themselves of a winning trip that started with contenders Arizona and San Francisco. They are 5-3 with only Wednesday night's series finale remaining with the White Sox.
The Cardinals hadn't had a winning trip covering more than one city since April when they went 5-1 at Cincinnati and Chicago. That was during the time the Cardinals were piling up much of their 9-1 edge against the Reds and now they are 3-0 against the White Sox with one interleague tussle left.
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