Chicago Cubs hang on late to claim series from Cardinals

It wasn’t pretty but the Chicago Cubs did just enough to take down the St. Louis Cardinals to claim two of three to end a rough road trip. Both starters were tagged as Jake Arrieta managed to pick up his ninth game.

Well, this felt like it was Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. After trailing by a handful of runs, the Cardinals (24-23) absolutely refused to give up, storming back and cutting into Chicago’s lead throughout the contest.

And for the first time since 2001, the Cubs (31-14) managed to score six runs in one inning in back-to-back games. Joe Maddon‘s first place club tallied six in the first inning during yesterday’s game and jumped all over Carlos Martinez in the second this afternoon.

Shortstop Addison Russell got things going with an RBI single to center field, tying the game up at one apiece shortly after Stephen Piscotty gave his team the lead in the first.

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Both Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward joined in on the fun by driving in three runs on an RBI single and Heyward’s sixth double of the season that was hit sharply down the first base line.

Ben Zobrist, who started the frame with a single, came through with a two-run RBI knock of his own to score Heyward and Kris Bryant, making it 6-1 in favor of the visiting team.

Arrieta (9-0, 1.72 ERA) was taken deep by Randal Grichuk during the home half of the second inning — it was Grichuk’s second home run of the season. Jake worked through five innings, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

His opposition, Martinez (4-5, 4.25 ERA) was lucky to make it through four. Mike Matheny‘s right-hander was lit up for six earned runs on as many hits, striking out seven Cubs and walking four prior to being replaced by Seung-hwan Oh.

Oh left a slider hanging above the plate with Kris Bryant in the batter’s box and paid for it as last years Rookie of the Year clobbered a three-run homer to extend Chicago’s lead to 9-4.

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St. Louis refused to go quietly and responded with a three-run homer of their own in the home half of the sixth courtesy of outfielder Matt Holliday. It was Holliday’s seventh home run of the season.

Matt Adams tallied the Cardinals final run of the afternoon with his sixth big fly of the season. A solo bomb that made it a one-run game. Adams later singled off closer Hector Rondon in the ninth, advancing Piscotty over to second with one out.

Rondon would battle back to strikeout both Yadier Molina and Grichuk. Jedd Gyorko entered the game as a pinch-hitter and grounded out to Rondon who saved what could have been a game-tying single.