The St. Louis Cardinals resumed their season on Saturday after being sidelined for 17 days because of a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the layoff, the Cardinals were able to defeat the Chicago White Sox by a 5-1 margin in the first game of a doubleheader.
As is the case with doubleheaders this season, the game had a regulation length of seven innings. Adam Wainwright completed five of those frames, permitting a run on two hits and three walks. He also struck out three batters. Relievers Giovanny Gallegos and John Gant each worked a scoreless inning. The two combined for five strikeouts and allowed no runs on one hit.
We. Missed. This.#STLCards pic.twitter.com/YgMy2CqbEV
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 15, 2020
The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning against Lucas Giolito. Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 1-0. Dexter Fowler then drove in two with a single before Andrew Knizner could single in the fourth run. The Cardinals would later score an unearned run in the fourth inning as a result of an error by first baseman Jose Abreu.
Saturday's game was notable for reasons other than the obvious as it marked the big-league debut for top prospect Dylan Carlson. Carlson started in left field and batted seventh. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout and he stranded three runners on base.
Speaking of debuts, the second game between the Cardinals and White So, featured a few more. Right-hander Jake Woodford, the 39th pick in the 2015 draft, was the Cardinals' starting pitcher, while Max Schrock (part of the trade that sent Stephen Piscotty to the Oakland Athletics) was penciled in as St. Louis' second baseman.
