ST. LOUIS _ Sunday was a successful Mother's Day for the Cardinals.
Though the series began with a stumble, the Cardinals came back to take Sunday's rubber game against the Chicago Cubs, 5-0. Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright went seven scoreless innings _ the first time in 10 months he's had a scoreless outing _ and the Cardinals got all they needed on offense in the form of home runs from catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Matt Carpenter.
Wainwright's start got off to a bit of a perilous beginning though. The first inning was when he spent most of his energy, throwing 21 pitches and letting two men into scoring position. He was able to wiggle out of trouble, however, by striking out Cubs catcher Miguel Montero.
The Cardinals got on the board early, as Molina jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Cubs starter Jake Arrieta in the second inning and placed it in the left field stands. Molina's homer was his second of the season and drove in third baseman Jedd Gyorko, who'd singled to lead off the frame, to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Cardinals kept up the pressure on Arrieta. Second baseman Kolten Wong led off the inning with a hit by pitch, and two batters later Carpenter sent one over the right-center field wall.
Carpenter's shot was his eighth of the season, and was his first career hit off of Arrieta having gone 0-for-28 previously. Arrieta and Carpenter were former college teammates at Texas Christian University and Arrieta always seemed to have the upper hand.
After that, it was all Wainwright. The right-hander cruised through the Cubs depleted lineup, needing 102 pitches to complete his seven innings. He got some help on the defensive end as well, getting two double plays from his infield.
Wainwright's final line consisted of the seven scoreless innings, four hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
In the bottom of the eighth, Molina decided he apparently wasn't finished hitting home runs. With one out in the frame, the catcher launched his second home run of the afternoon, this time almost to straightaway center, for this third of the season.
After Wainwright departed, relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist came in and finished the job for their starter with two scoreless innings.
The Cardinals have an off day Monday and then begin a two-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m. Lance Lynn will face Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound.
