Morning Marquee: Chicago Cubs rally with three homers to beat Reds

 It took them awhile but the young stars of this Chicago Cubs team showed up in the seventh inning. The North Siders rallied to beat the Reds, 5-2 Monday night.

And it was beautiful to watch while the Chicago Bears struggled both offensively and defensively against the Philadelphia Eagles. Quarterback Jay Cutler and a few other players left that Monday Night Football contest in a loss.

Anyway, we’re here for the Chicago Cubs, not the Monsters of the Midway. Over the weekend, the Cubs struggled against the Milwaukee Brewers. That was after they clinched the division on a Cardinals loss.

However, they celebrated on Friday when Miguel Montero launched a walk-off home run against the Brew Crew. Bottles were popped and players were dancing in the clubhouse that underwent a massive facelift over the winter.

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On Monday evening, Jason Hammel took the bump for the division champions. Hammel gave up two earned runs while striking out six and was on the line for the loss.

That was until his younger teammates helped pull him out of the hole. Mainly, with three home runs and a single to complete the rally.

Shortstop Addison Russell went yard for the 21st time as he continues to put up jaw-dropping numbers. It has been a long time since the Chicago Cubs had a productive shortstop such as Russell. Hopefully, he can continue to swing a powerful bat with home-field advantage on the line.

Something the Cubbies are definitely going to want throughout the playoffs. Considering how well they played at Wrigley this year.

Contreras Crush

Moments after Russell rounded the bases and made his way to the dugout, rookie catcher Willson Contreras stepped to the plate. Cubs color man Jim Deshaies pointed it out that Contreras was due for a huge hit.

He was right. Well played, Mr. Deshaies. Contreras jumped all over a pitch, sending it out to deep left field and appeared to find Waveland Avenue. In addition, it was his 10th home run of his career that tied things up at two.

Next: Cubs rally to sink the Reds

Just an inning later, right fielder Jason Heyward launched a two-run homer out to left field, scoring Russell. For awhile, it looked as if the Cubs hit a brick wall. They only have a handful of games left and the magic number set at five.

Seems like they still want to have home field advantage after all.