Cubs Fumble Ballgame, Stumble Into 5-4 Loss to Cards

The Chicago Cubs have blown a lot of games this year, but most of those worries were a distant memory with the team's recent play. After two consecutive wins against the St. Louis Cardinals, and three consecutive in total dating back to Wednesday, the Cubs were feeling good entering Saturday's contest. With a strong Jameson Taillon on the bump, things were looking up for the Cubs as they look to make one final push at a NL Wild Card spot.

That said, the Cubs like to give games away. Saturday was no different. Saturday's loss for the Cubbies marks the 25th blown save of the season. If that number is even cut in half (we'll say 12 of those become wins), the Cubs are 66-47, good for first place in the NL Central.

Tale of the Tape

Things started off well for the Cardinals in Saturday's game. In the second at-bat of the contest, Alec Burleson launched a ball into the right field corner at Wrigley Field. Initially, the ball was deemed in play, but upon umpire review the call was a home run and a 1-0 Cards lead.

Despite the early run, Jameson Taillon settled in nicely. In addition, the Cubs answered quickly in the bottom of the first. Ian Happ walked to lead off the game. Then, for the second straight day, Michael Busch left the yard for his 15th home run of the year, giving the Cubbies a 2-1 advantage.

The Cubs weren't done adding. After a quick top frame in the second inning from Taillon, the Cubs offense got back to work. Nico Hoerner singled to start things off, but a Dansby Swanson strikeout momentarily slowed the momentum. After Swanson's whiff, Pete Crow-Armstrong whacked a ball into the right field corner. On his horse, Hoerner scored from first and Crow-Armstrong ended up on third standing up for the RBI triple.

After PCA's triple, Miguel Amaya laid down a perfect sac bunt to score the speedster from third and give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.

Jameson Taillon continued to deal, finishing his day after 6.0 innings of work. Taillon struck out four, allowed six hits, the one run, and didn't walk a single Cardinal. The big righty continues to show that he was worth keeping around after trade deadline rumors suggested he was available for the right price.

Despite the excellent work from Taillon, things fell apart. In the top of the eighth, Porter Hodge came in to keep the Cardinals at an arm's length. Unfortunately, a walk, a hit batter, and two defensive follies from Isaac Paredes and Pete Crow-Armstrong allowed three Cardinals runs to score and tie the game.

With two outs and men on first and second, Brendan Donovan hit a high chopper up the third base line. Paredes made a nice play to get there, but sailed the throw long trying to get Donovan at first. Putting the ball in his pocket was likely the right move in hindsight. Then, on an innocent pop up into shallow center field, Nico Hoerner had a chance to get the final out and keep the damage to one run. However, Crow-Armstrong called him off, then failed to make the play (Seiya Suzuki did this earlier in the game, too) allowing the other two runs to cross the plate.

It was tragic, but it got worse. In the top of the ninth, Tommy Pham smoked a triple off the wall in left field. Ian Happ nearly made an outstanding play, but the liner made for a tough go. A sac fly from Lars Nootbaar scored Pham to give the Cardinals the lead.

Like the eighth, the Cubs went quietly in the ninth to end the game. The Cardinals won 5-4 thanks to a number of blunders by the Cubs.

The One That Got Away

Entering the eighth inning, the Cubs had a 4-1 lead after excellent starting pitching and timely hitting. In addition, the Cubs were looking to lock up the four-game series with a win on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Cubs gave away the game, accumulating the 25th blown save of the season. Halving that number would place the Cubs in first place, as we stated above.

Saturday very much resembled the rest of the Cubs season. Opportunities galore but unable to capitalize. In this case, the Cubs lose another winning streak and now have to win on Sunday Night Baseball to secure a series win. Its not the end of the world, but it feels like the same old broken record when it comes to the 2024 Cubs.

What's On Tap Next?

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals finish up their four-game set on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Justin Steele takes the bump for the Cubbies and Miles Mikolas throws for the Red Birds. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CDT on ESPN .

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