Paul DeJong had two hits, including a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, and Willson Contreras smacked a two-run home run to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 win against the host Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
St. Louis overcame three errors to secure a series victory in the first-half finale.
DeJong delivered against Keynan Middleton (2-1), who allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout. Winner JoJo Romero (1-0) struck out three in the last two innings, fanning Tim Anderson with two runners in scoring position to end the game.
The White Sox took a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning, as Luis Robert Jr. drove in Zach Remillard with a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals responded with Alec Burleson’s RBI groundout in the top of the ninth.
Contreras, who missed the first two games of the series to recover from a dental procedure, gave the Cardinals a 2-1 advantage with a two-run shot in the fourth inning.
Contreras connected against White Sox starter Lucas Giolito with one on and one out. The blast might have done more damage, but Chicago catcher Seby Zavala caught a runner stealing earlier in the inning.
The White Sox tied the game in the seventh. Nolan Gorman’s error on a Carlos Perez grounder to third with the bases loaded allowed a run to score.
Chicago capitalized on a series of St. Louis miscues to open the scoring with a third-inning run. Elvis Andrus grounded a single to left field to score Oscar Colas, who reached base on Paul Goldschmidt’s error at first base to start the inning.
Colas advanced to second base on Contreras’ passed ball and went to third when Contreras sailed a throw into center field.
Giolito closed a strong first half with seven innings of two-run ball. He allowed two hits while walking three and striking out five.
Returning to the starting rotation for the first time since May 24 following a stint in the bullpen, Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz pitched effectively, as well, throwing 57 of his 75 pitches for strikes. Matz scattered one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.
Andrus and Contreras both had two hits.
–Field Level Media