Bellinger, Suzuki lead Cubs over Cardinals |
CHICAGO - For a team to succeed during an MLB season, you need to take some risks as an organization. The Chicago Cubs (47-51) have taken many risks in recent seasons, including the addition of former NL MVP Cody Bellinger this offseason. What was seen as a low-risk, high-reward pickup this offseason started to look risky at best early, especially after going down with a knee injury.
However, since returning from the IL, Bellinger has been on a tear, and the current month he has put together has him again looking like an MVP. Looking to keep things rolling against the St. Louis Cardinals (44-55) at Wrigley Field on Saturday, Bellinger delivered as he drove in four more runs on two hits to push his average to .319. That alone played a big part in the Cubs success as the Cubs rallied from several deficits to pick up the 8-6 win. Expecting to see Drew Smyly on the bump, David Ross took a different approach and used Michael Fulmer as an opener. What is becoming more normal across major league baseball today, Fulmer lasted two innings and allowed one run in the process. He gave way to Smyly, who struggled in his three innings while the Cubs offense went to work as they mashed the baseball since the all-star break. Opposing Fulmer and Smyly was right-hander Miles Mikolas, who continues to have an up-and-down season. Today was one of the downs for him as he gave the Cardinals five innings but allowed five runs on 11 hits for a no-decision. Granted, the Cardinals have been struggling to pitch this season, but they haven't had any trouble scoring, and today showed precisely why as Lars Nootbaar led off the game with a solo shot for a 1-0 lead. The Cubs have done a great job battling back throughout this homestand and continued to do that on Saturday. Trailing 1-0 in the second, Dansby Swanson returned to the lineup to pick up a one-out double before coming home on a Christopher Morel single to pull the Cubs even 1-1. Tie ballgame! pic.twitter.com/WVz6JlTZ7i With the third inning set to begin, Smyly was finally entering the game, and things couldn't have started worse for him. Smyly allowed a Nootbaar double to start things off before the Paul Goldschmidt single gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Three batters later, it was a 3-1 lead, with Willson Contreras picking up a sacrifice fly. Like when the Cardinals scored the first time, the Cubs didn't waste any time to climb back into it as their offense went back to work in the bottom of the third. This time it was a trio of one-out singles getting the job done as Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, and Bellinger all picked up those hits as Bellinger made things 3-2 with his. Tied in the third! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fe3nRlVsC6 Two hitters later, it was Swanson delivering again as his RBI single brought things back to even 3-3. “I felt like today our response was really good in a lot of different innings,” Swanson said after the game. “The game can be played so many different ways. Just being able to prove to ourselves that no matter what way the game goes, we still have a chance to win and compete. “We did a really good job of that tonight.” The back-and-forth affair continued into the fifth inning, where the Cardinals used a little two-out magic to get the job done. Nolan Gorman started that rally with a long solo blast to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead, with Nolan Arenado answering with a single. Following that hit, Contreras continued to do damage against his former team as his RBI double made things 5-3. A walk to Tyler O'Neill kept the inning going before Smyly escaped without further damage. This had all the makings of a classic one at Wrigley Field, and once the bottom of the fifth got started, it was the Cubs making sure to be on point. A pair of doubles from Hoerner and Happ started things off ahead of the Bellinger groundout to make things 5-4. Seiya Suzuki kept the line moving as his RBI single brought home Bellinger to make things 5-5. 5-5 in the 5th! pic.twitter.com/63JCXrmaws Already a bullpen game in terms of how the Cubs approached it, Daniel Palencia pitched the sixth inning for the Cubs after Smyly allowed a base runner with two outs. Palencia immediately walked the next two hitters to load things up before his wild pitch gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead. Things could've been much worse than that, but it was the final time the Cubs would trail the rest of the way. Now with head again, Marmol chose to go with his pen and called on Zack Thompson to do the job. Thompson was greeted by Hoerner and his walk before a pair of singles loaded the bases again for the Cubs with one out and Bellinger back in the box. Had there been a base open, you can bet Bellinger would get walked in this situation, as the Cardinals didn't want him to beat them. Instead, they were forced to pitch to him, and Bellinger made them pay as his RBI single not only put the Cubs back in front 7-6, but they wouldn't trail the rest of the way. BELLI FOR THE LEAD! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wjM8XZOZEk Suzuki followed that up with his second RBI knock of the game as the Cubs now led 8-6 entering the seventh. Any time the Cubs have the lead this late in the game, it allows Ross to go with his best relievers to lock things down. A perfect seventh from Julian Merryweather gave way to another shutout frame from Mark Leiter Jr as the Cubs maintained their 8-6 lead into the bottom of the eighth. The Cubs would then fail to score in their half of the eighth as it was Adbert Alzolay's time in the ninth. Despite allowing a one-out hit, Alzolay was lights out as he struck out the final two hitters he faced to secure his ninth save as he is starting to look like a natural in the closer role. Cubs W ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/h3pjp4baUP
The Cubs had 15 hits in the win, with Hoerner and Suzuki coming away with three. “Kept coming back,” manager David Ross said after the game. “These guys refuse to give up, quit, rollover. It was a back-and-forth game. I think the game is all about the offense today. … These guys are grinding all the way through nine innings. “It's really helped me and my decision making, and I think the group as a whole, just to know how much fight there is in this group. It was a really nice win.” Happ, Bellinger, and Swanson also added multi-hit games, with Bellinger coming away with four more RBIs in the win. The Cubs will go for the series win on Sunday as Jameson Taillon will face off against Jordan Montgomery.
