DeJong, Contreras lead Cards past White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings

CHICAGO -- - Paul DeJong had an RBI double in the 10th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Sunday.

DeJong lined a pitch from Keynan Middleton (2-1) down the left field line to score Nolan Gorman, who started the inning on second base. It was DeJong's second straight hit, following a 1 for 19 slide.

"I was looking for something up that I could hit to the outfield and I just kind of flipped it out there are and got to second," DeJong said.

The Cardinals won their second straight on the South Side despite three errors that led to all of Chicago's runs being unearned.

"We kept our composure and didn't give in," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras drilled a two-run homer and reached base four times with two hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. He's 11 for 17 with two homers and five RBI in his last five games.

"He's been settling in and feeling a lot better at the plate and driving the baseball to all fields," Marmol said. "We're seeing the Contreras we're used to seeing."

Contreras batted fourth and returned behind the plate after missing two games following a dental procedure on Friday. The catcher was charged with two passed balls and a throwing error.

JoJo Romero (1-0), the fourth Cardinals reliever, pitched two innings for his first career win.

Romero thought he had earned a victory on May 7 in a the Cardinals 12-6 win over Detroit. But the 26-year-old left-hander got just one out and allowed two runs in that one, and the official scorer awarded the win to Drew VerHagen.

"This one's special," Romero said. "It's one hopefully they can't take away."

The Cardinals tied it at 3 in the top of the ninth after they loaded the bases against Kendall Graveman with one out.

Alec Burleson's chopper up the middle glanced off Graveman's glove, and the White Sox were able to get only an out at second, instead of a game-ending double play. Lars Nootbar, who had doubled to open the inning, scored from third.

Zach Remillard scored Chicago's third unearned run of the game on Luis Robert Jr.'s sacrifice fly in the eighth to put Chicago ahead 3-2.

In his first start since May 24, St. Louis left-hander Steven Matz allowed one unearned run and struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings. He yielded just two hits and walked none.

Matz dueled with Chicago righty Lucas Giolito, who allowed only two hits, both to Contreras, and two runs in seven innings.

"Gio was spectacular," Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. "On the offensive side we couldn't get much going today. This one hurt to finish up the first half."

Matz made 10 starts to begin this season, going 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA, before moving to the bullpen. He was 0-1 with a 2.81 ERA as a reliever and his longest outing was 3 1/3 innings.

The 32-year-old probably earned a spot back in the rotation with this outing, throwing 57 of 75 pitches for strikes.

"He pitched with a little bit of edge today," Marmol said. "Today we say him very convicted."

Matz struck out six of the first 10 hitters he faced, but the White Sox pushed across an unearned run in the third to take a 1-0 lead.

Oscar Colas reached when first baseman Paul Goldschmidt flubbed his chopper. Colas advanced to second on a passed ball, then third when Contreras' throw to second sailed into center field.

Colas scored on Elvis Andrus' single to left.

Contreras lined his 10th homer to the back of the left-field bullpen for the first hit off Giolito and a 2-1 St. Louis lead in the fourth.

The White Sox tied it at 2 in the seventh. Gorman couldn't come up with pinch hitter Carlos Perez's bouncer and the error allowed Robert Jr. to score.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: LHP Jordan Montgomery (right hamstring) will be checked by a doctor on Sunday night, giving the team a clearer timeline for his return. Montgomery abruptly left Friday night's series opener in the fifth inning after he slipped on the mound. ... INF/OF Brendan Donovan (sore throwing arm), restricted to DH since late June, is expected to start throwing during the All-Star break. ... OF Tyler O'Neill (lower left back strain) went 0-for-2 with two walks as DH in his fourth rehab appearance with Triple-A Memphis on Saturday night.

White Sox: OF Andrew Benintendi sat out a second straight game with a right wrist injury.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals host Washington starting Friday.

The White Sox open a three-game series at nine-game trip at Atlanta on Friday.

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