Nolan Arenado reached a major milestone and came through in the clutch on Thursday night, helping the St. Louis Cardinals complete a doubleheader sweep of the struggling Chicago White Sox with an 8-6 extra-inning victory. The win handed Chicago its eighth consecutive loss.
Arenado launched his 350th career home run in the third inning—right after Alec Burleson’s three-run shot—and later delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th. The Cardinals’ star third baseman went 3-for-5 on the night, adding to an already Hall of Fame-caliber résumé. He became just the seventh player in MLB history with at least 350 home runs and 10+ Gold Gloves.
Rookie Andre Granillo, who earned his first MLB win by getting the final out in Game 1, pitched a scoreless 10th in the nightcap for his first career save. JoJo Romero (3-3) handled the ninth and was credited with the win.
Willson Contreras stayed hot at the plate, following up his homer and three RBIs from Game 1 with a clutch two-run double in the fourth inning to give the Cardinals a 6-1 lead.
The White Sox stormed back with a five-run seventh, highlighted by Andrew Benintendi’s third career grand slam, to tie the game at 6-6.
In the 10th, Dan Altavilla (0-1) struck out Burleson to start the inning, but Arenado singled home automatic runner Jordan Walker before getting thrown out stretching for two. Lars Nootbaar then added some insurance with his ninth home run of the season.
The doubleheader sweep moves the Cardinals further above .500, while the White Sox continue to spiral, still in search of their first win in over a week.
Victor Scott II continued to showcase his speed and impact on the basepaths, singling and swiping his 20th stolen base of the season. Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch just before Alec Burleson launched his seventh homer, helping power the Cardinals’ offense early in the nightcap of Thursday’s doubleheader.
For the White Sox, Ryan Noda provided a brief spark, homering to lead off the second inning against Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy—marking Noda’s first hit since joining Chicago.
The Cardinals, who have now won three straight, got a key defensive play in the ninth when Nolan Arenado fired home to cut down Mike Tauchman on a grounder from Vinny Capra, preserving the tie. Capra stole second moments later, but Miguel Vargas grounded out, sending the game to extras.
St. Louis has proven efficient in back-to-back contests, improving to 8-4 in six doubleheaders this season. The White Sox, by contrast, were playing in their first doubleheader of 2025.
Looking ahead to Friday:
- Cardinals: Right-hander Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.83 ERA) will take the mound as St. Louis opens a home series against the Cincinnati Reds. He’ll be opposed by Brady Singer (7-4, 4.34 ERA).
- White Sox: Davis Martin (2-7, 3.79 ERA) is set to start for Chicago in Toronto against Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 2.08 ERA) as the team looks to end its current losing skid.
