Central STL News

Michael McGreevy pitched six scoreless innings after being hit in the chest by a line drive, helping the St. Louis Cardinals secure a 5-0 win over the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

McGreevy relied on his ability to control pitches and avoid the middle of the plate. Despite taking a 104.6 mph liner from Pete Crow-Armstrong directly to his chest in the second inning, he continued without missing time on the mound. “The ball’s coming right at me, and my body just freezes,” McGreevy said. “My mind is thinking at, like, a thousand words per second, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, here comes the ball. Dude move, move, move. Like, catch it.’ By that time, I just didn’t move -- it hit square chest.”

He chose not to display his injury but described a visible bruise as "a price he was more than willing to pay" for earning his fourth victory this season.

Over six innings pitched, McGreevy allowed six singles and one walk while striking out three batters. Relievers Matt Svanson, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien finished off three shutout innings.

“He did a really nice job,” said manager Oliver Marmol about McGreevy’s outing. “Some hard contact first time through, but we defended it well. And then he settled in and did a really nice job to give us six.”

Offensively for St. Louis, Jordan Walker delivered his first home run since May 17 with a 434-foot shot in the sixth inning—his first homer at Busch Stadium since April 13—with an exit velocity of 111.7 mph.

“I like where I am right now, and [I] continue to hit the ball hard,” Walker said. “Now it’s just a good night, and I hope to continue doing it.”

Multiple Cardinals players had multi-hit games: Walker and Alec Burleson each collected three hits; Masyn Winn, Thomas Saggese and Pedro Pagés had two apiece.

In addition to power hitting from Walker's home run—his longest of the year—the Cardinals executed small-ball tactics during their fifth-inning rally when both Garrett Hampson and Brendan Donovan laid down sacrifice bunts; this marked their first two-sacrifice-bunt inning since September 23, 2018 against San Francisco.

With Yadier Molina serving as guest coach for two games during this series opener at Busch Stadium—a stadium known for hosting memorable moments—the Cardinals limited Chicago hitters to an 0-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position thanks largely to strong defense behind McGreevy and Pagés.

McGreevy has shifted away from using primarily his sinker toward relying more often on his four-seam fastball this season—a trend reflected Friday when only five of his eighteen outs came via ground balls.

“I thought we executed really well when we needed to especially when traffic got heavy,” said McGreevy after praising teammates’ defensive plays including Saggese throwing out Ian Happ at home plate along with outfield efforts by Walker and Hampson tracking down fly balls.

For young players such as McGreevy or Walker trying to establish themselves late in the season these performances help build consistency considered crucial among Major League Baseball athletes striving for long-term success.

“I thought the last outing we faced them [and up] until now there [were] some pitches I gave in [where] I go ‘Let’s just throw a strike,’” McGreevy explained about changes made since previous starts against opponents like Kyle Tucker adding: “Those are gifts to good hitters...the mentality was just better going forward...there’s room to be aggressive here...not give in.”

The Cardinals' shutout extended their recent solid play as they look ahead toward further series action against Chicago under Molina's guidance from inside their dugout.