Fly the W: Cubs dominate rival Cards to win series |
CHICAGO — It's amazing how good this Chicago Cubs (55-59) team can be when they actually hit the ball consistently. You saw it early in the season, and you're starting to see it now, as this team is one of the best in baseball when they score at least four runs. The problem has always been consistency, as the Cubs had a two-month stretch during which their offense was next to non-existent.
Since the start of July, the Cubs' offense has started to play more consistently, and the wins are starting to pile up in the process. With their schedule starting to ease up a bit and 30 games that could be considered winnable, if the Cubs are going to make a late-season push, the time to do it would be now. That all starts with a strong showing against the St. Louis Cardinals (57-55) this weekend at Wrigley Field. One of the many teams the Cubs are chasing in the standings, the best way to catch these teams is to win as many games as possible, especially when you go against them. Had it not been for a late-game meltdown on Saturday, the Cubs had a golden opportunity to sweep the Cardinals and pull within two games of them in the standings. That didn't happen, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that it was a strong showing this weekend as they took care of the Cardinals 6-2 and claimed three of four from them this weekend. While the offense has been searching for consistency all season, Justin Steele is also searching for consistency, as this season hasn't been as easy as last. Sure, a big reason for that was his early season hamstring injury, but Steele doesn't have the same dominating stuff he had last season, and you are seeing that in the box scores. This was one of those starts where you can look back and say this was vintage Steele as the Cubs left-hander gave up two runs in 6 2/3, striking out six in the process. “It’s been a tough season,” said Steele. “Things haven’t gone our way every single time, but I think the consistency with the attitude … the consistency of how we show up each and every single day is kind of what’s carrying us right now.” Both of those runs came on one swing from Masyn Winn, whose opposite-field homer in the third inning put the Cardinals in front 2-0. Apart from that, Steele was as locked in as he has been in quite some time. He went on to retire the next 12 hitters he faced before running into a little bit of trouble in the sixth. With Steele settling into a massive groove after that homer, the pressure was on Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas to do the same. For the most part, he was able to match Steele in the early innings, although he was forced to work out of a jam in the second that saw the Cubs put runners on second and third before a Miguel Amaya strikeout ended the inning. Then came the fourth inning, when the Cubs kept the pressure on with an Isaac Paredes single, which was followed by a Mike Tauchman double to put two runners on and one out. Dansby Swanson managed to push home the Cubs' first run on an RBI grounder, but it was a balk that led to their second run, with the Cubs pulling even at 2-2. It was up to rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong to call a game-tying balk for home plate ump Clint Vondrak.@Cubs #GoCubsGo #WrigleyField pic.twitter.com/qHWAjnvk4l It's amazing how one simple play can alter the trajectory of one's start. That balk seemed to get in Mikolas' head, and it certainly affected him the rest of the way. One inning after surrendering the lead, the Cubs jumped on him early. They came away with three straight singles on five pitches, with the Michael Busch single putting them in front for good, 3-2. Michael Busch stays hot as the Cubs take the lead! pic.twitter.com/B5e7MtVZnW Seiya Suzuki worked a walk shortly after to load the bases before a Cody Bellinger sacrifice fly had the Cubs in front 4-2 and threatening to do more. Fortunately for the Cardinals, they were able to limit the damage as Paredes grounded into an inning-ending double play to keep things close. Belli sac-fly and the Cubs now lead 4-2! pic.twitter.com/17SdRVXZOX Given Steele's pitching and the Cubs' bullpen's performance until Saturday, you had to think four runs would be enough. This team is 45-16 when they score at least four runs in a game. In an effort to create even more separation between them and the Cardinals, the Cubs benefitted from a pair of sixth-inning solo shots, with Mike Tauchman going deep off John King and Miguel Amaya answering off Ryan Fernandez to push their lead to 6-2. Mike Tauchman rips a solo shot to left! pic.twitter.com/rcSbwBy9oH “We had to win,” Tauchman said after the win. “We've got to play our best baseball. We've got stack wins and we've got to win series. I think everybody knows the stakes in here. Really good performance all around. Good team win.” AHEM... In order for the Cubs to continue playing well offensively, they are going to need more slug, which you are starting to see more of since the all-star break, as those two homers would be all the offense the Cubs would need as Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller, and Julian Merryweather came in to toss near-perfect relief appearances to lock down the series win 6-2. Three Cubs picked up multi-hit nights, with Tauchman, Amaya, and Pete Crow-Armstrong taking home those honors. The Cubs pounded out 11 hits as a team, with Bellinger being the only one without a hit. The Cubs will look to keep things rolling on Monday when they welcome the Minnesota Twins to Wrigley Field. “The group believes in itself. We believe that we have the right people here to rattle off some wins.” “When the offense is scoring, it’s so much easier to pitch as well. Hats off to them.” “He kind of makes it look easy and he makes it almost look routine.” Mike Tauchman, Cardinal killer. pic.twitter.com/4f6E9j5xU6
Miguel would like a word. pic.twitter.com/0KphaBm5fC
Mike Tauchman and the Cubs are playing with confidence. pic.twitter.com/ARUU9IY1B8
Justin Steele on the Cubs’ offense tonight. pic.twitter.com/dS9BfjG1SM
Craig Counsell on Dansby Swanson’s defense. pic.twitter.com/b8Mz97JEDD
