VIDEO: Matt Carpenter Hands Cardinals the Lead With a Solo Shot off Cubs' Alec Mills

The Cardinals are just rubbing it in against the Cubs at this point, and why not? After they knocked the Cubs out of postseason contention via a four-game sweep, the teams met again in a series kicking off Friday night. And the Cards didn't hold back. Matt Carpenter laced a solo shot over the wall in left-center field to give the Cards an early 1-0 lead.

Carpenter's blast landed as a souvenir in the Cubs bullpen, adding a bit of extra insult to the lead-changing homer.

The solo shot was Carpenter's 14th of the year and the Cards are hoping he can shake off his struggles in advance of the postseason.