CHICAGO • With a chance to determine who won the National League Central long after they were excused from the race, the Cardinals stayed true to a schedule set weeks ago and started rookie Jack Flaherty at Wrigley Field in the season finale Sunday. They had a stack of young pitchers set to back him and threw their future at the Cubs until finally, inevitably, came the end.
From Flaherty’s first pitch to Daniel Poncedeleon’s scoreless inning, four of the five pitchers who started the year in Class AAA Memphis’ rotation appeared in Sunday’s 10-5 loss to the rival Cubs.