WOO HOO, THAT’S A SWEEP! The Cubs won their sixth in a row, and took this weekend series from the Cardinals in delicious fashion.
The Cubs built a 3-0 lead on into the 6th inning in this one, before a should-have-been-caught double, a walk, and a Dexter Fowler three-run homer tied things up.
After failing to come through a few times with runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs, it looked like the Cubs might do it again in the 7th inning after the first two batters reached. But with two outs, Jason Heyward got all clutch, flipping a single into left center and scoring what proved to be the winning run. The former Cardinals outfielder came up at least as big as the former Cubs outfielder on the day, notching three hits. Heyward was actually the only position player to have more than one hit on the day – and, in fact, every other position player starter had exactly one hit.
Jose Quintana pitched very well today, that three-run homer notwithstanding, and a little bit of a hiccup thereafter before he was pulled. It looks like he’s really found his groove with the Cubs, and at just the right time.
Things got very tense after Quintana departed, with Carl Edwards Jr. cleaning up the sixth, and then with the Cardinals putting a runner on base in each of the final three innings, including two in the seventh and loading the bases in the 8th. Ultimately, the bullpen ultimately got things done.
After his four-out appearance on Friday, and his clean save yesterday, Wade Davis was called upon to lock things down for the third day in a row. After Tommy Pham led the inning off with a single, Davis got the next two outs, and Fowler came to the plate with two outs, representing the lead run. Fowler battled Davis to a full count, and then hammered one to center. Davis went down to a knee, thinking he’d just blown it … but Leonys Martin settled under the ball on the warning track.
CUBS WIN. CUBS SWEEP.