Levine: Cardinals Edge Cubs As Willson Contreras Makes 1st Start

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The legend of Cubs rookie catcher Willson Contreras began with a first in league at-bat on Sunday night, when he homered on the first pitch he saw in the majors.

On Monday night, the 24-year-old Contreras made his first big league start, being paired veteran right-hander John Lackey. Early on, Lackey struggled with his command, allowing two runs in the second inning and another in the third. That would be all the Cardinals would need to grab a 3-2 win in the series opener at Wrigley Field.

Contreras plated one of those two Cubs runs with an RBI single in the third inning. It was his composure behind the plate and at the plate that caught manager Joe Maddon's eye.

"He was very much in the moment," Maddon said. "He was non-plussed by anything and absolutely knew what was going on. He moved the baseball and took some sliders down and away. I am pretty happy about the performance."

Lackey went six innings, despite his own early issues with strike zone control, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out six.

"I got no mental problems,"Lackey responded when asked how he navigated the last three innings with only 37 pitches despite throwing 72 in the first three.  "I am going to get after it regardless. Early on, I definitely wasn't locating as well I could. We made some adjustments in between innings that paid off in the end."

Both Lackey and Contreras admitted to some bumps in the road along the way in their first time as a battery.

"He was pretty excited," Lackey said. "The talent is there for sure. Things are going to slow down for him. It will get better. It was a first good step for him. Yeah, he was pretty excited."

Always honest, Lackey was hinting at some rough edges of Contreras' game, notably his framing and jumping up too quickly from his position with the umpire still in react mode.

"That is something we will do tomorrow," Lackey said of how they'll go over instructive suggestions with Contreras. "Their lineup made some adjustments, so I had to make some back. That was something we had to adjust between innings. It wasn't something he could do on the fly like in other situations."

Contreras threw out a runner on a stolen base attempt, and he also made a great tag at home to cut down a Cardinals run in the ninth after a great relay from Kris Bryant and Addison Russell.

Contreras understands that making adjustments will be crucial.

"Even though we had our reports, we had adjustments to make," Contreras said. "He (Lackey) knows how to make pitches and what he wants to do. I am a gamer. You will always see me showing high energy. That is how I play."

Contreras got some help form an unlikely source throughout the game: Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

"I have been watching Molina since I was a kid," Contreras said. "This is like my dream come true playing against him. He is a pretty nice guy and gave me some advice during the game, and I appreciate that."

Contreras wouldn't divulge the details of the Molina tutorial.

"He congratulated me," Contreras said. "He wished me good luck in my career, then he told me about something I was doing during the game that I should't do anymore."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.