CHICAGO � It took a one-time prospect who has been up and down from Class AAA and in and out of the lineup to reward two of the brightest young pitchers the Cardinals have.
On his 25th birthday, Randal Grichuk drilled his first career grand slam to cap a six-run eight inning that launched the Cardinals to a 8-4 victory Saturday at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie when Stephen Piscotty scored on a wild pitch, and then took a two-run lead when Jedd Gyorko accepted a bases-loaded walk.
That brought Grichuk up with the bases loaded.
The Cardinals' center fielder, who returned from Triple-A just during this series, became the first hitter to slug a grand slam on his birthday since Colby Rasmus did it for the Cardinals in 2010. Grichuk is the fifth Cardinals hitter in the past six decades to hit a grand slam on his birthday. This one allowed the Cardinals to take their first win in this series and also get to the ninth with a lead _ and thus avoid Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman.
It also made a winner of rookie Alex Reyes.
In relief of fellow rookie Luke Weaver, Reyes worked two blistering innings. He retired all six of the batters he faced, including two strikeouts in the seventh inning. He froze Javier Baez with a 100-mph fastball for a called strike in the seventh inning.
