Brad Miller’s clutch double gives Cardinals win in Game 1 of doubleheader vs Cubs (Video)

Brad Miller doubles in two runs and the Cardinals make up ground on the Cubs

Sure, the Cardinals have played ten less games than their NL Central counterparts, but they remain the most legitimate competition to the Cubs for the division in part because of that very reason. With the Cards on the docket for a historic number of doubleheaders over the remainder of MLB’s shortened season experiment thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak in their clubhouse, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to make up the 2.5 games that currently separates these two clubs.

In Game 1 of two at Wrigley Field on Monday night, the Cardinals emerged victorious despite a bizarre seven-inning matchup, started by the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks, who features a very respectable 3.31 ERA. Hendricks went 6.1 innings, but his three earned runs were two too many to match the Cards’ bullpen approach.

Miller’s double moves the Cardinals within striking distance of Cubs

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With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Miller laced a double in the left-center field gap just out of the reach of Albert Almora, Jr., who had made a highlight-reel catch earlier in the game. It was only Miller’s seventh at-bat of the season, but given how shorthanded St. Louis is at this juncture, they need every hand they can get.

The Cards’ pitching had a rough go of it in their weekend series on Chicago’s South Side, with the White Sox bashing four straight home runs off St. Louis hurlers on Sunday. Suffice to say, one earned run against the Cubs is a far better outcome.