The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-3 on Friday, handing Chicago its fourth straight loss and eighth defeat in 11 games and shrinking the White Sox AL Central lead to a half game. A 70-minute rain delay preceded Chase Meidroth’s first-pitch home run to open the game, but Chicago surrendered runs in the first, second, third and fourth innings and never regained control. The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but failed to score, continuing a recent stretch of poor situational hitting; the team has one sacrifice fly in its last 50 opportunities since August 22. Matthew Liberatore allowed a pair of earned runs in 4.1 innings for St. Louis while the Cardinals collected 13 hits and received steady defense and effective relief. Southside coverage described the game as another episode in Chicago’s slump since late August, with hitters striking out in key moments and overall team batting dropping below .200 this month. The loss tightened the division race, leaving Cleveland 0.5 games behind Chicago for the top of the AL Central.
