CHICAGO -- The Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3, on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their doubleheader. Here’s a quick look at the game.
How it happened: Propelled by a throwing error by Cardinals pitcher Kevin Siegrist on a sure-thing inning-ending double play ball, the Cubs scored three runs in the seventh inning to erase a 2-1 deficit. Addison Russell tied the game, 2-2, with an RBI hit that barely stayed fair down the right-field line before Siegrist threw away a chopper by Dexter Fowler. Cardinals pitcher Seth Maness was ejected on the Russell play as he thought the ball was foul. Cubs catcher Taylor Teagarden broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning, driving in Starlin Castro who had doubled. The Cardinals quickly responded, getting two runs in the sixth while chasing starter Dallas Beeler. A Jason Heyward fielder’s choice and a Mark Reynolds infield hit plated the runs while reliever Justin Grimm helped matters for St. Louis by throwing two wild pitches during the sequence. The Cubs added a run in the eighth when Castro hit a sacrifice fly scoring Jorge Soler who had doubled. Beeler lasted five-plus innings, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out six. Jason Motte gave up a run in the ninth, but pitched out of a jam for the save.
What it means: If Joe Maddon was looking for signs that his team might be getting over the “mental hump” in regards to the Cardinals, he can look to the doubleheader sweep as evidence. It was the Cubs who made the right pitches, fielding plays or delivered the big hit when it was needed -- not the Cardinals. That’s a dramatic difference from the recent past where it was the Cubs who made the not-so-clutch mistakes in dropping eight of the first 10 games between the teams this season. Now they’ve taken the last two thanks to a team effort.
Maddon favorite Johnny Herrera contributed with a hit off the bench while the bullpen picked up Grimm, who had thrown two wild pitches to new catcher Teagarden. Yes, the Cardinals made mistakes but the Cubs took advantage. That’s a page out of the opposition’s book as the Cubs improved to 46-37, moving to a season-high nine games over .500.
Rizzo HBP: Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch for the 18th time this season, setting a franchise record in just the team’s 82nd game of the year. He has as many strikeouts (7) against left-handed pitching as he does hit-by-pitches.
What’s next: The series finale takes place on Wednesday night when the Cubs' Jason Hammel (5-4, 2.89 ERA) takes on St. Louis' Michael Wacha (10-3, 2.66).
