A quality start from Adrian Sampson and back-to-back two-run innings in the third and fourth from the offense weren’t enough for the Cubs to stop the Cardinals from winning their franchise-record 15th consecutive game Saturday.
The Cubs’ 8-5 loss was decided by late-inning baserunning, good and bad.
For the bad, David Bote led off the eighth with a triple with the Cardinals leading 5-4 and the Cubs a virtual shoo-in to tie the score. Trayce Thompson walked to put runners on the corners with no outs, but Sergio Alcantara struck out and Rafael Ortega hit into a 3-2-5-4-2-8-6 double play.