The 2015 Major League Baseball season kicked off Sunday night in a Wrigley Field that is still under construction, as is their young baseball team. It was a tough first test of the season for Joe Maddon's Chicago Cubs, as they were shutout by Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in an NL Central showdown.
Wainwright threw 6 innings of 5-hit ball, which included allowing the leadoff hitter to reach in 4 of the first 5 innings, 3 of which were doubles. He was able to avoid trouble, finishing with 6 strikeouts and no walks on the night.
Wainwright has had success at Wrigley Field his entire career, compiling a 9-1 record and a 3.33 ERA at the Cubs' home ballpark. He also lowered his ERA to 1.85 in 4 career Opening Day starts.
Jason Heyward had 3 hits in his St. Louis debut and Matt Holliday drove in 2 runs to begin the new campaign. Matt Carpenter contributed 2 hits of his own to help the Cardinals' top of the lineup go 7-for-14 with all 3 runs driven in on the night.
Jon Lester signed a $155 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason, but struggled in his Chicago debut Sunday night. He gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in just 4.1 innings of work. The Cubs' new ace was making his 5th consecutive Opening Day start, 4 of which came with the Boston Red Sox.
The Cubs' new young team struggled offensively against the Cardinals' ace, going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. This was the most anticipated Cubs' season opener in years, following 5 straight losing seasons.
Changes are not only coming within the team, but also in the park with the addition of a new video board in left field and new bleachers in right field. Those are still under construction and were covered by pictures of Cubs' Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, who passed away in January at the age of 83. He played 19 seasons with the Cubbies.
The Cardinals' back end of the bullpen finished off the game, with Jordan Walden and Trevor Rosenthal shutting down Chicago in the last 2 innings. Rosenthal struck out the side to record his first save of the young season.
The Cardinals and Cubs will have Monday off before continuing their season-opening series on Tuesday night.
Wainwright threw 6 innings of 5-hit ball, which included allowing the leadoff hitter to reach in 4 of the first 5 innings, 3 of which were doubles. He was able to avoid trouble, finishing with 6 strikeouts and no walks on the night.
Wainwright has had success at Wrigley Field his entire career, compiling a 9-1 record and a 3.33 ERA at the Cubs' home ballpark. He also lowered his ERA to 1.85 in 4 career Opening Day starts.
Jason Heyward had 3 hits in his St. Louis debut and Matt Holliday drove in 2 runs to begin the new campaign. Matt Carpenter contributed 2 hits of his own to help the Cardinals' top of the lineup go 7-for-14 with all 3 runs driven in on the night.
Jon Lester signed a $155 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason, but struggled in his Chicago debut Sunday night. He gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in just 4.1 innings of work. The Cubs' new ace was making his 5th consecutive Opening Day start, 4 of which came with the Boston Red Sox.
The Cubs' new young team struggled offensively against the Cardinals' ace, going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. This was the most anticipated Cubs' season opener in years, following 5 straight losing seasons.
Changes are not only coming within the team, but also in the park with the addition of a new video board in left field and new bleachers in right field. Those are still under construction and were covered by pictures of Cubs' Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, who passed away in January at the age of 83. He played 19 seasons with the Cubbies.
The Cardinals' back end of the bullpen finished off the game, with Jordan Walden and Trevor Rosenthal shutting down Chicago in the last 2 innings. Rosenthal struck out the side to record his first save of the young season.
The Cardinals and Cubs will have Monday off before continuing their season-opening series on Tuesday night.
