St Louis Cardinals beat Chicago Cubs 3-0 in MLB season-opener
Last Updated: 06/04/15 3:10pm
Matt Holliday drove in two runs as the St. Louis Cardinals picked up a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on the opening night of the new Major League Baseball season on Sunday.
Holliday went 2-for-4 and walked once, while Matt Carpenter added an RBI single and scored off left-hander Jon Lester, making his first Cubs start.
St. Louis right-handed starter Adam Wainwright, coming off a 20-9 season for the defending National League Central champions, made his fourth career season-opening start and third straight.
Wainwright (1-0) worked six innings and allowed five hits and struck out six while throwing 101 pitches. He didn't issue a walk. Right-handed reliever Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth for the save.
Right fielder Jason Heyward, new to the Cardinals this season, went 3-for-5 with a double to lead a 10-hit St. Louis attack.
The Cubs, who kicked-off the season with new manager Joe Maddon and under the backdrop of a major Wrigley Field construction project, had just five hits off four Cardinals pitchers. Three were doubles, with one apiece from centre fielder Dexter Fowler, Chris Coghlan and catcher David Ross.
The Cardinals opened a 1-0 first-inning lead on Lester when Heyward launched a one-out double to right and scored on Holliday's single to right on an 0-2 count.
St. Louis made it 2-0 in the second as second baseman Kolten Wong walked and later scored on leadoff man Carpenter's single to right.
St. Louis scored again in the fifth when Carpenter led off with a single to right and came home on Holliday's single to right-centre.
