Cardinals 7, White Sox 3: Báez and Bernal, After Meidroth's Two

A 70-minute wait, then Meidroth's first pitch

September 11, 2026 - St. Louis - The Associated Press recap said the start was delayed 70 minutes for storms that never showed. Chase Meidroth then hit Matthew Liberatore's first pitch into the greenery in front of the left-center bleachers. His 13th. 1-0. The St. Louis Cardinals still beat the Chicago White Sox 7-3, because Joshua Báez and Leonardo Bernal would not let a pair of solo shots become the story.

Busch Stadium was overcast and 75 degrees, wind in from right at 6 mph. Attendance was 30,274. The game lasted 2 hours, 53 minutes after the delay. Chicago lost its fourth straight and, per the AP recap, saw its AL Central lead trimmed to a half-game over Cleveland, which beat Minnesota 5-2. The White Sox have lost nine of 12. They are 75-72. St. Louis is 73-75.

The AP recap said the heart of the Cardinals' lineup went 10-for-16 with six RBI and six runs. That is the night in one line. Meidroth's two homers were loud. They were also the only Chicago runs that came off the barrel.

Liberatore survived the first two. Kay did not survive the fifth.

Iván Herrera reached in the first. Alec Burleson doubled him home, his 35th double. 1-1. Bernal scored in the second on a Masyn Winn forceout. 2-1. Meidroth answered in the third, a 391-foot shot into the left-field bullpen, his 14th, per the AP recap. 2-2. Two swings, two ties. The rest of Chicago's night was traffic that did not score.

Anthony Kay (9-9) lasted four innings, five hits, three runs, one walk, two strikeouts, 67 pitches. The AP recap said he is 0-4 in his last six starts. Báez singled Jordan Walker home in the third and took second. 3-2. That was the lead Gordon Graceffo had to protect.

The fifth is where Graceffo (8-1) got the win. The AP recap said he recorded the last two outs of the inning, including a strikeout of pinch-hitter Tristan Peters with the bases loaded. The box score matches: two-thirds of an inning, no hits, one walk, one strikeout. Chicago loaded the bases and left them there. Liberatore had already allowed both Meidroth homers in 4 1/3 innings, six hits, two runs, three walks, two strikeouts, 72 pitches. He did not get the decision. He also did not give Chicago a third run.

Three hits in a row, then Bernal again

Trevor Richards inherited a 3-2 game and watched St. Louis stack the fifth. Walker doubled. Burleson singled him home. Báez doubled Burleson home, his sixth double. Bernal singled Báez home. 6-2. Three run-scoring hits in a row, the same sequence the AP recap listed. Richards lasted two innings, five hits, three runs.

Bernal singled Báez home again in the seventh. 7-2. Tyler Schweitzer had thrown two innings and allowed that last Cardinals run on three hits. Riley O'Brien and Ryne Stanek each threw a scoreless inning. Luis Gastelum finished the ninth.

Chicago got one back in the eighth. Sam Antonacci scored on a Munetaka Murakami forceout. 7-3. That was the last White Sox run. They had already wasted a bases-loaded look in the sixth, when Randal Grichuk struck out and Miguel Vargas flied out, per the AP recap. Nine hits, 12 left on. A 7-3 that looks closer in the hits column than it felt after the fifth.

Two homers, 12 stranded, a half-game lead

Meidroth finished 2-for-4 with two homers, two runs, two RBI, and a walk. AthX Engine will put him at the top of this game's hitting board. He still left with a loss. Grichuk had two hits and a double. Kyle Teel had two hits. Vargas singled and stole a base. The rest of the Chicago order walked into traffic and walked back to the dugout.

Báez went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI. Bernal went 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and two RBI. Burleson had two hits, a double, a run, and two RBI. Walker singled, doubled, and scored twice. The AP recap's 10-for-16 line is those four names. Winn's RBI forceout in the second was the quiet run that made Meidroth's second homer a tie instead of a lead.

Luis Castillo (4-11, 5.57) faces Kyle Leahy (10-4, 3.41) on Saturday, per the AP recap. Chicago is still in first. A half-game is first. It is also a September lead that shrinks every time the White Sox leave 12 on and lose a fourth straight on the road.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Meidroth at 12 hitting fantasy points, the loudest bat in a game his club lost. Báez had 8. Bernal had 7. Burleson had 6. St. Louis finished with 14 team FP, fourth on the Friday slate. Chicago finished at minus-2.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*