CHICAGO - The 121-year-old Cubs-Cardinals rivalry probably peaked 10 years ago, when Dusty Baker and Tony La Russa shouted obscenities at one another from their dugouts.
That was back when there was some real hatred between the teams, with bean ball wars common and Carlos Zambrano and Jim Edmonds antagonizing one another just for the heck of it.
Those days are long gone, as evidenced by Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny insisting before Tuesday’s game that the 12-20 Cubs were a tough team to face.
“I know right now they’re a force,” Matheny said.
Perhaps Matheny was embellishing a bit, considering the Cubs entered the night ranked last in the National League in fielding, 11th in runs scored and had the league’s second-worst record.
Then again, maybe Matheny was on to something. Nate Schierholtz’s two-run home run off Lance Lynn gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the fourth, and they hung on for a 2-1 victory.
Travis Wood (3-2) threw another gem, allowing 1 run on 5 hits over 6 2/3 innings, and Kevin Gregg remained perfect with his fifth save in five chances.
Wood (Bryant) has been as effective as any Cubs starter in years, becoming the first since Mark Prior in 2003 to start a season with seven consecutive quality starts. The last left-hander to do so was Johnny Schmitz, who had seven consecutive in 1948.
The only run off Wood was a home run by Allen Craig to lead off the second. Wood has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his seven starts, lowering his ERA to 2.33.
REDS 5, BRAVES 4 Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo hit two-out home runs in the ninth inning to rally host Cincinnati to victory over Atlanta.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 6, RAYS 4 Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ was hit in the head by a line drive and taken off the field on a stretcher during the Blue Jays’ victory over host Tampa Bay. In a frightening scene at Tropicana Field, Desmond Jennings’ second-inning liner caromed squarely off the left side of Happ’s head with a loud “thwack” that could be heard up in the press box. Happ dropped face down at the front of the mound, holding his head with his glove and bare hand. The pitcher was taken to a hospital for tests, but the Blue Jays had no update on his condition immediately after the game.
TWINS 6, RED SOX 1 Scott Diamond (3-2) allowed three hits in seven innings and Ryan Doumit hit his first home run of the season in visiting Minnesota’s victory over Boston.
ASTROS 7, ANGELS 6 Chris Carter’s three run home run put host Houston ahead in the third, and the Astros held on to end a six-game skid.
INDIANS 1, ATHLETICS 0 Zach McAllister(3-3) and two relievers combined on a shutout and host Cleveland scored an unearned run in the fifth inning for their eighth victory in nine games. ORIOLES 4, ROYALS 3 Matt Wieters drove in three runs, including the tiebreaker in the eighth inning, and host Baltimore rallied to beat Kansas City.
INTERLEAGUE
METS 1, WHITE SOX 0 Matt Harvey pitched one-hit ball for nine innings in a nearly perfect performance and the host New York Mets allowed just one runner all game in beating Chicago. Harvey allowed only an infield single by Alex Rios with two outs in the seventh.
PIRATES 4, MARINERS 1 Jeanmar Gomez (2-0) pitched five shutout innings to help host Pittsburgh down Seattle.
ROCKIES 2, YANKEES 0 Jorge De La Rosa (3-3) pitched six scoreless innings in a steady rain and Carlos Gonzales hit his seventh home run in host Colorado’s victory over New York.
BREWERS 6, RANGERS 3 Yuniesky Betancourt’s eighth home run of the season capped a five-run first inning and host Milwaukee snapped a season-high five-game losing streak.
Tuesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cincinnati 5, Atlanta 4 Chicago Cubs 2, St. Louis 1 Arizona at LA Dodgers, (n) Miami at San Diego, (n) Philadelphia at San Francisco, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 4, Kansas City 3 Cleveland 1, Oakland 0 Minnesota 6, Boston 1 Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 4 Houston 7, LA Angels 6
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit at Washington, ppd., rain NY Mets 1, Chicago White Sox 0 (10) Pittsburgh 4, Seattle 1 Milwaukee 6, Texas 3 Colorado 2, NY Yankees 0
Sports, Pages 24 on 05/08/2013