ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have one run over two games and will be trying to avoid a three-game sweep against the Chicago Cubs.
Manager Mike Matheny doesn't believe it's a reflection of a shift in the NL Central's balance of power.
"It doesn't matter who we're playing against," Matheny said after a 2-1 loss on Tuesday night. "If we don't execute in those situations, we don't get the job done and do the little things right, it doesn't matter who we're playing. We've just got to control what we control."
The Cardinals were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and Jaime Garcia (1-1) was wild, walking four and giving up two runs in five innings.
"When he can control it and control it in the bottom of the zone, good things are going to happen," Matheny said. "And there's days when it's just going to run too much, and it's going to sail on him and then working tough counts."
Jason Hammel worked six sharp innings and had both RBIs for the Cubs.
The Cardinals stranded two runners against the Cubs bullpen in the seventh and eighth. Yadier Molina was at second base when Hector Rondon struck out pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko to earn his third save in three chances.
Chicago leads the majors at 11-3 and goes for a sweep Wednesday over the defending NL Central champions. The Cubs last swept St. Louis in three games on the road Sept. 13-15, 2010.
Cubs starters have worked at least six innings the first 14 games of the season. That's the most in the majors since 1988, when the Astros went 22 games and the Indians 17, according to STATS.
Hammel (2-0) allowed a run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. The right-hander also gave Cubs pitchers three RBIs in two games and the lead with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth.
Garcia had thrown 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings before Hammel's hit. Coming off a one-hitter his previous outing, the lefty struck out seven but needed 98 pitches to work five innings.
"I wasn't getting the calls and they were very patient," Garcia said. "They weren't swinging at a lot of the balls that were right outside the strike zone."
Molina had an RBI triple in the second but the Cardinals missed a chance for more because Matt Adams strayed off second and was picked off.
"I can't get picked off in that situation," Adams said, "especially in a game like that."
The Cardinals had runners on second and third with none out in the fourth but came up empty when Jason Heyward made a perfect throw to nail Matt Holliday trying to score on Molina's flyout to medium right.
St. Louis is 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position overall in the series.
BIG CALL
The Cardinals successfully challenged a hit by pitch call to open the seventh and it might have saved a run. Pinch-hitter Javier Baez ended up striking out and the next batter, Dexter Fowler, doubled.
UP NEXT
Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 2.84) lost his last start, allowing two earned runs in six innings against Colorado. Carlos Martinez (2-0, 3.46) is 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 12 career day starts. He's 2-0 against the Cubs as a starter but with a 5.48 ERA.
