Cardinals rookies shine in series opener

The Chicago Cubs were riding some serious momentum into their National League Division Series opener with the St. Louis Cardinals after a thrilling 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL wild-card game, but they ran into a pitcher just as hot as Jake Arrieta on Friday night.

John Lackey added to his already impressive postseason resume with 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty hit home runs, as the Cardinals blanked the Cubs 4-0 to draw first blood in the best-of-five series.

Top Performer: Piscotty, playing in his first career postseason game, went 2-for-4 with a home run, collected two RBIs, and scored twice. The Cardinals outfielder launched a towering two-run shot to left field in the eighth inning to give St. Louis a 4-0 advantage and demoralize the Cubs.

Starting Pitchers: Lackey, who made his 19th career postseason start, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning until Cubs shortstop Addison Russell spoiled the bid with a leadoff single. Lackey's former Boston Red Sox teammate, Jon Lester, had a stretch where he retired 13 straight Cardinals batters, but he was pulled from the contest after yielding a solo shot to Pham.

Turning Point: Though the Cardinals led wire to wire, Pham and Piscotty put the nail in the coffin with their homers to cap a three-run eighth inning and give Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal a four-run cushion to work with in the ninth.

Up Next: The two clubs will battle again Saturday evening at Busch Stadium in Game 2 of the series. Chicago will call on righty Kyle Hendricks (8-7, 3.95 ERA) in an attempt to level the series, while St. Louis will counter with southpaw Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43 ERA).