Cubs Capture Series With Bounce-Back Win Over Cardinals

The Chicago Cubs found disappointment on Saturday after blowing a lead late to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, Sunday presented the opportunity to win the four-game series over the Red Birds and get back to their winning ways.

Justin Steele took the bump for the Cubbies on Sunday Night Baseball looking to right the ship with a quality performance.

Tale of the Tape

Like Saturday's contest, the Cardinals were the first team to strike. Neither team managed to plate runs until the third, but the Cubs had a decent chance in the bottom of the second. Unfortunately, an Isaac Paredes walk and Pete Crow-Armstrong double were left stranded on second and third.

In the top of the third, Lars Nootbaar singled to open the inning. Two batters later, the Cardinals' young star Masyn Winn hit his ninth home run of the season to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. Although Willson Contreras walked in the following at-bat, Steele retired both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado on swinging strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Cubs finally got on the board. After Cody Bellinger's strikeout to begin the inning, Isaac Paredes singled. After being a late addition to the lineup thanks to Ian Happ's scratch, Mike Tauchman doubled to give the Cubs a pair of runners in scoring position.

Dansby Swanson grounded out, but the ball in play meant a run scored, cutting the Cardinals lead in half. Then, with Pete Crow-Armstrong at the plate, Mike Tauchman scored thanks to a balk called on pitcher Miles Mikolas. PCA ultimately popped out, but the game was tied at two.

The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Cubs opened the inning with back-to-back singles from Miguel Amaya and Nico Hoerner. With two men on, Michael Busch drove in Amaya to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Following a Seiya Suzuki walk, Cody Bellinger drove in Hoerner with a sac fly to extend the lead to 4-2. Unfortunately, the rally was killed by an Isaac Paredes double play. Nonetheless, the Cubs took the lead and never looked back.

For the third consecutive inning, the Cubs added runs. Mike Tauchman led the inning off with his sixth home run of the season. The solo shot made it a 5-2 game.

Swanson and Crow-Armstrong were retired on groundouts, but the Cubs still weren't done. After a Cardinals pitching change, Amaya swatted his fourth home run of the season to give the Cubs a 6-2 advantage.

Justin Steele was brilliant for the Cubs. Despite the early runs from the Cardinals, Steele settled in and delivered another quality start. The Cubs' ace went 6.2 innings, allowing just three hits, two runs, and two walks while punching out six batters. The lefty lowered his ERA to 3.33 on the season.

Porter Hodge got the final out of the seventh, and Tyson Miller and Julian Merryweather shut the Cardinals down in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to close out the 6-2 win for the Cubbies.

Rebounds and Rallies

After a disastrous game on Saturday, the Cubs took care of business on Sunday night. Three out of four for the Cubs, and four wins in their last five, have the boys in blue keeping pace in the NL Wild Card race. Although the Cubs are 6.0 games back in the Wild Card and 8.5 games back in the division race, there is still a lot of baseball to be played. Also, with the Cubs rolling, they have one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. Perhaps they can keep up the quality play and sneak into the conversation in September.

Sunday showed that this Cubs team has what it takes. The addition of Isaac Paredes has seemingly balanced the lineup more than it was before his arrival, leading to more runners on base. Thanks to some incredible starting pitching and really good bullpen work as well, the Cubs could be the team that no one wants to see in the postseason assuming they can make it there.

What's On Tap Next?

Following the series win over the Cardinals, the Cubs remain at home as the Minnesota Twins come to town. The three-game set begins with Monday's 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch. Kyle Hendricks throws for the Cubs while David Festa gets the start for the Twins. The game can be viewed on Marquee Sports Network.

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