Game #10
Wednesday April 18
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
Matthews Walks It Off in Extra-Inning Thriller as Cubs Edge Cardinals, 2-1
By PAUL SULLIVAN
Chicago Tribune Staff Writer
Wrigley Field — A brisk April afternoon at the Friendly Confines turned dramatic late as Gary Matthews delivered a 10th-inning single to lift the Cubs to a 2-1 walk-off victory over the rival St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
Before a bundled-up crowd of 10,386, Matthews laced a clean single to left off Cardinals reliever Bruce Sutter, scoring Ryne Sandberg and bringing the crowd to its feet in jubilation. The Cubs (3-7) snapped a seven-game skid and claimed their first extra-inning win of the young season.
“The crowd went wild,” Matthews said postgame, smiling as he recalled rounding first to a wave of cheers. “It’s moments like this that remind you why you love the game.”
The game was a pitcher’s duel for most of the afternoon. St. Louis right-hander Joaquin Andujar turned in a gem, throwing 9.0 innings while allowing just one run on five hits and fanning seven. But despite his brilliance, the Cardinals' bats fell silent against a trio of Cubs pitchers.
Chicago starter Chuck Rainey went 5.2 innings, surrendering just one run—a solo shot by Andy Van Slyke in the third that landed in the left field bleachers. Relievers Rich Bordi and Tim Stoddard kept St. Louis off the board the rest of the way. Stoddard (1-1) earned the win with two sharp innings of relief, striking out four and working around a pair of walks.
The Cubs got on the board in the second when Matthews drew a walk and later came around to score on a wild throw from Ozzie Smith that prolonged the inning. But after that, both offenses went cold, combining for just 12 hits across 10 innings and stranding 16 runners.
The turning point came in the bottom of the 10th. Sandberg, who had been mired in a slump, reached on an error by Smith with one out. He advanced to second on Leon Durham’s single and then moved to third on a walk by Mel Hall. That set the stage for Matthews’ heroics.
Sutter (0-1), the former Cub and now Cardinals closer, was tagged with the loss. He allowed one unearned run on one hit in 0.2 innings of work.
“I thought we had it locked down with Andujar going nine strong,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said. “But when you don’t hit, you leave yourself no margin for error. And we made two costly ones.”
Indeed, St. Louis committed a pair of errors—one from Van Slyke and another from Smith—that helped extend innings and gave the Cubs extra chances.
Chicago’s offense was paced by Durham, who went 2-for-4 with a double, and Matthews, who reached base twice. Hall added a hit and threw out Willie McGee at second with a laser from right field, killing a potential St. Louis rally in the seventh.
For the Cubs, the win offered a welcome sigh of relief amid a rocky start to the season.
“This was a gut-check game,” said manager Jim Frey. “We’ve had some tough breaks, but the guys didn’t quit. We battled, and today we got the bounce we needed.”
GAME NOTES:
Joaquin Andujar was named Player of the Game despite the loss, with a game score of 75.
Tim Stoddard was credited with two balks during his two-inning appearance.
Temperature at first pitch was a chilly 43 degrees with an 11 mph wind blowing in from right field.
Attendance: 10,386