Fly the W: Cubs dominate rival Cardinals in London |
LONDON - Not even a six-hour flight to the United Kingdom can slow down the Chicago Cubs (37-38) as they traveled across the pond for the 2023 London Series. This time, it was their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals (31-45), meeting them there as this continues to be the season to forget for the Redbirds.
Behind another impressive showing from Justin Steele on the mound and a Cubs offense that saw Ian Happ find his power stroke, it was the Cubs winning their 11th game in their last 13 and knocking off the Cardinals 9-1. Since returning from his brief IL stint, Steele has been just as good as he was before landing on it, and he continued that on Saturday. The left-hander carved the Cardinal's offense up from start to finish as he gave the Cubs six impressive innings allowing one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out eight as his ERA fell to 2.62 on the season. “That was something I'll never forget (playing in London) -- truly special,” Steele said after the game. “It felt like everybody was on the mound there with me. Really exciting -- a lot of energy.” Steele was followed by Julian Merryweather, Michael Fulmer, and Anthony Kay as those three made quick work of the Cardinals the rest of the way. Opposing Steele was the fine win in the Cardinals clubhouse as Adam Wainwright was back on the bump. Age has certainly caught up to Wainwright this season, as his 6.56 ERA leads many fans to believe this will be his last season in the bigs. Wainwright was hit early and often in this one as he allowed seven runs in just three innings as his horrendous season continues. After struggling to find his power most of the season, Happ may have found something over the past few weeks as he opened the second inning with a leadoff homer to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs (6) pic.twitter.com/CCw6zFZhTv
That was only the beginning for the Cubs that inning as Christopher Morel and Yan Gomes extended the inning with a two-out single while Nick Madrigal made it three singles in a row to put the Cubs in front 2-0. Chicago @Cubs Manager David Ross joined @Ken_Rosenthal in the 3rd inning to talk about his team jumping out to an early lead.
It was more of the same in the third, with Happ opening the scoring in that inning with his second homer in as many at-bats as he now has three homers in his past six games after having four before that. Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs (7) pic.twitter.com/6e0zQCvBy6
“You still have to play baseball. You still have to go out and do your job," Happ said after the game. "And I think it was a complete game. Steeley did a great job. The defense behind him was really good. And then the bats, the bats were on today.” That homer was followed by a quartet of singles from Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Morel, and Gomes, with Morel and Gomes driving in two more to push the lead to 5-0. The Cubs kept the pressure on the fourth, with Madrigal and Mike Tauchman leading things off with consecutive doubles as Tauchman pushed the Cubs lead to 6-0. Seiya Suzuki added an RBI fielders choice later in the inning as the Cubs built a 7-0 lead and chased Wainwright following that inning. Already with a seven-run lead, Steele was cruising along as he faced just one above the minimum through four and had the Cardinals guessing. Then came the fifth when the Cardinals looked like they were about to break through as a leadoff walk by Jordan Walker put a runner on base before advancing to third on the Paul DeJong double. Nothing more came from that as Steele worked around the jam to keep the shutout intact. The same can't be said in the sixth inning, with Tommy Edman leading off the sixth with a double and coming home on the Paul Goldschmidt single to end the shutout bid 7-1. Nolan Arenado followed that single with one of his own to put a pair of runners on, but Steele got the last laugh and struck out the next three hitters to end his outing with a 7-1 lead. Little did the Cardinals know that run would be the only run of the game for them which doesn't bode well when you are trailing by six. In what was officially a battle of the bullpens in the seventh, it was the Cardinals doing their part as Steven Matz, and Jake Woodford were on point early to keep the Cubs scoreless through four innings of work. Merryweather took over for Steele and, despite allowing a pair of, baserunners got out of the inning without any damage as the Cubs maintained their 7-1 lead. Chicago managed to get back on the scoreboard in the top half of the ninth as a leadoff error allowed a baserunner to reach base before Swanson connected for the Cubs third homer of the day to give them a 9-1 win over the Cardinals. Dansby Swanson - Chicago Cubs (8) pic.twitter.com/oKi7eYyBe5
Morel has made the adjustments fans wanted him to make, as he led the way with three hits. Gomes, Madrigal, Happ, and Swanson added two hits, with Happ and Swanson driving in two.
📺: London Series on FOX pic.twitter.com/1VfNWwe5h6
Chicago @Cubs manager David Ross joins the show to talk about how the experience in London has been so far, and what he’s looking forward to the most in the second half of the season.@kevinburkhardt | @AROD | @davidortiz | @derekjeter pic.twitter.com/Z0fKDhb8J7
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 24, 2023
Mike Tauchman played in the last #LondonSeries back in 2019 as a member of the Yankees!
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 24, 2023
The @Cubs outfielder spoke on his approach at the plate and working his way into a vital role in Chicago this season. pic.twitter.com/gVLrS0aDHe
Amazing experience pic.twitter.com/3b2Vkd4FiM
— Evan Altman (@DEvanAltman) June 24, 2023
