Cubs romp Cardinals in series finale, finish off 3-game sweep |
CHICAGO, Ill. — The first series of the season between the rival Chicago Cubs (19-12) and St. Louis Cardinals (20-14) went entirely the Cubs' way, with the North Siders finishing off a 3-game sweep of the Redbirds via a commanding 13-5 victory at Wrigley Field on Sunday. All eight starting position players for the Cubs tallied at least one hit, and Chicago went 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Over the course of the series, the Cubs scored a grand total of 23 runs.
Catcher Willson Contreras started the scoring action for the Cubs with a 419-foot solo blast in the second for his ninth home run of the year. Then, in the fifth, right fielder Jason Heyward put the Cubs ahead 2-0 with an RBI triple that skirted under the glove of former Cubs and current Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler. Heyward was scored after that on a sacrifice fly by second baseman David Bote. .@WContreras40 cranks his 9th home run of the season!#EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/ZpyadQrRbS J-Hey extends the #Cubs lead! #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/2umwhOtXmh Jose Quintana started on the mound for the Cubs and produced a 2-run start that lasted six innings. Quintana's counterpart on the night was Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, who allowed five runs to come across in five innings of work. Quintana's lone blemish came on a 2-run double hit off the top of the wall in left-center by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina in the sixth. The Cubs responded with a 3-run bottom half of the sixth that included a 2-run double by first baseman Anthony Rizzo and an RBI single from Contreras. From there, the Cubs poured it on in the later innings. Veteran Cub Ben Zobrist, who made multiple stellar defensive plays while starting in left field on the evening, plated center fielder Albert Almora Jr. with an RBI single in the seventh. The ensuing inning saw the Cubs turn the contest into a romp by compiling six runs on four hits off Cardinals relief pitching. Chicago notched three doubles in the frame, including consecutive RBI doubles from Bote and Almora, respectively, and went up 13-2 on a 417-foot grand slam by third baseman Kris Bryant. #KBoom! Bryant's fourth round-tripper of the season marked the Cubs' 12th and final hit of the game. Almora, Bryant, Contreras and Zobrist all tabbed multiple hits in the rout, with Almora recording multiple extra-base hits in a game for the first time since last July. Despite committing four errors and giving up 12 hits to the Cardinals, including a pair of home runs in the ninth, the Cubs ran away with the win due to complete and utter dominance at the plate. Chicago has now won seven games and swept two series in a row.
4th career grand slam for @KrisBryant_23! #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/vAwmL6CWlE
