Ryan Dempster was making a start for the Chicago Cubs on Friday amid trade rumors as the July 31 deadline approaches, but the only thing spectacular about his performance was the home run he gave up to Matt Holliday in the Cardinals 4-1 win on Friday night. Holliday hit his 15th of the year in the third inning. At the time it was projected as the deepest home run hit at the current Busch Stadium traveling at 469 feet. “Honestly, I didn’t want to watch it because I have a lot of respect for Ryan (Dempster),” Holliday said. “I got it good.”
The Cardinals went to work right away in the first inning scoring three times on four hits. The runs ended a streak of 33 consecutive innings that Dempster had gone without allowing a run. Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and Lance Berkman delivered RBI singles in the first to back pitcher Kyle Lohse.
Lohse (10-2) won his fourth straight decision over five starts by going seven innings and allowing six hits and a walk.