Cardinals rally past Cubs in London Series finale: How St. Louis bounced back from Saturdays stru

The St. Louis Cardinals overcame an early hole against the Chicago Cubs to win the second contest of their two-game series in London 7-5 on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

After Chicago opened up a 4-0 lead in the first inning, the Cardinals scored seven straight runs, including three in the bottom of the second.
St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan had a team-high two RBIs, while Willson Contreras went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs.
Cubs starter Marcus Stroman, who allowed six runs on eight hits, exited the game in the fourth inning with a blister on his right index finger.
Chicago took the first game of the series with a 9-1 victory Saturday at London Stadium.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Cardinals opt for bullpen game

After a 9-1 flop to open the series Saturday, the Cardinals hardly fared better opening Sunday’s game. St. Louis made two errors while the Cubs scored four times, tacking on four unearned runs to spot starter Matthew Liberatore’s line. But unlike Saturday, the St. Louis offense showed some life and scored seven unanswered runs en route to a victory to split the series.

The Cardinals’ original plans for Sunday were derailed before the series began, as St. Louis ended up scratching Sunday’s scheduled starter Jack Flaherty due to right hip tightness. Manager Oli Marmol elected to utilize his relievers and opted for a bullpen game instead.

Six different pitchers contributed to the victory, with Jake Woodford earning the win. Woodford spun 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, one day after not allowing a run over 1 2/3 innings in Saturday’s loss. Jordan Hicks, who was so sick Saturday that he wasn’t able to attend the game, racked up his fourth save in as many opportunities to close out the win.

Contreras paced the offense with a four-hit day, and Donovan drove in two runs to lead an improbable comeback for the Cardinals.

St. Louis has totaled the sixth-most home runs in the majors this year but did not homer in either game of the series. Instead, the Cardinals utilized a balanced scoring attack Sunday, with eight hitters recording hits and five driving in runs. — Woo

Cubs experience a setback

Not many saw that one coming. The Cubs were 11-2 over the last 13 games coming into Sunday, after dominating the Cardinals 9-1 in the first London Series game. With the, shall we say, “favorable” pitching match-up of Stroman versus Liberatore, you would have been forgiven for sitting back and waiting for the inevitable Cubs win. Particularly after Liberatore got knocked around in the first inning and gave up four runs.

But then the Cardinals bats — helped by an unusually rough outing and finger blister for Stroman and some eccentric defense — came alive, and delivered a setback for the Cubs. They remain tantalizingly shy of that .500 mark they have been striving for since May. — Miller

Defensive issues plague Chicago again

It was a rough day for Trey Mancini — in the field, at least. Driving in two runs on a first-inning double wasn’t enough to keep him in the game past the second, a defensive horror show prompting manager David Ross to quickly yank him from first base and put in Cody Bellinger instead. Mancini was given an error, as he seemingly forgot he had a glove on his left hand and strangely opted for a bare-handed attempt to catch an admittedly tricky flip from Nico Hoerner in the second.

These defensive issues aren’t new, so you wonder how long the Cubs can continue to keep Mancini at first.

This feels like a missed opportunity for the Cubs, not just missing the chance to reach .500 but also putting away another win against a struggling Cardinals team. That’s particularly irritating given that they have a whiplash-inducing turnaround for their next game, the first of a three-game homestand against the Phillies coming on Tuesday, giving them precisely one day to overcome the not-insignificant effects of transatlantic travel. — Miller

What they’re saying

Woodford praised the Cardinals’ bullpen’s performance.

“Even when we’re behind, our offense is so potent that you’re doing anything you can to keep it close,” he said. “One thing is all it takes for our offense. I thought the whole bullpen did well a great job today. We went out there, did our job and handed it off to the next guy and trusted that we were going to get it done.”

While discussing Stroman’s outing, Ross said the right-hander didn’t have a blister entering Sunday’s game.

“He was pushing through it for a little while,” Ross said. “It just got to be pretty hot — you could see him out there shaking his hand. It didn’t make a lot of sense to leave him in there and let it open up much more. … (The blister) did flare up there early on. He didn’t have it coming into the game, but I know in the first or second it started to light him up a little bit.”

GO DEEPER

Cubs' Marcus Stroman, hampered by a blister, endures rare short outing in London Series

Required reading

(Photo: Peter van den Berg / USA Today)