Pedro Pages Joins Rare St. Louis Cardinals History with Late Homer vs. Cubs

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, thanks in part to a historic home run from Pedro Pages.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) points after he hits a home run during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 14. / Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the rival Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field to move to an even .500 on the year at 34-34. The 3-0 win over their rivals was punctuated by a great pitching performance from veteran Kyle Gibson and the first major league home run from catcher Pedro Pages.

Gibson, signed this offseason to help improve the starting rotation, went 7.0 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six. He's now 5-2 on the year and owns a 3.44 ERA.

As for Pages, his first career homer came in the eighth inning and broke a 0-0 tie - and it made some rare team history as well.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

go-ahead HR in 8th inning or later for first career HR, Cardinals in expansion era (1961):

Today Pedro Pagés
4/8/16 Aledmys Diaz
4/13/09 Brian Barden
6/5/08 Joe Mather
6/26/07 Brendan Ryan
9/23/04 Yadier Molina
4/28/76 Doug Clarey
9/13/72 Jorge Roque
8/28/69 Steve Huntz

go-ahead HR in 8th inning or later for first career HR, Cardinals in expansion era (1961):

Today Pedro Pagés
4/8/16 Aledmys Diaz
4/13/09 Brian Barden
6/5/08 Joe Mather
6/26/07 Brendan Ryan
9/23/04 Yadier Molina
4/28/76 Doug Clarey
9/13/72 Jorge Roque
8/28/69 Steve Huntz https://t.co/WgPCwM8Rc8

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 14, 2024

Pages is a 25-year-old who just made his major league debut back in April of this year. He has just 32 at-bats under his belt and is hitting .125 with that homer and seven RBI. A sixth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2019, he played his college baseball at Florida Atlantic.

The Cardinals and Cubs will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch coming at 2:20 p.m. ET. Andre Pallante will pitch for St. Louis while Shota Imanaga pitches for the Cubs. Pallante is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA while Imanaga is 6-1 with a 1.96 ERA. He's in his first season after coming over from Japan.

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