Chicago Cubs: Offense comes through late, stealing a win from rival Cardinals

Down 2-0 late, the Chicago Cubs rallied with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, stealing a game away from the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

After Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester took a perfect game into the sixth inning, his strong outing was erased late, courtesy of two long-balls in the top of the eighth. Antioch, IL native Paul DeJong belted one into the seats in left and Randal Grichuk followed with a blast to dead-center, accounting for the only two runs of the gam for the Cardinals.

Cue the doom and gloom of Cubs fans, right? Wrong.

The Cubs answered back in the bottom of the inning on a Ben Zobrist RBI double that scored Jon Jay from first base. Matt Bowman stepped in to face reigning MVP Kris Bryant, who lined a ball into the gap, tying the game 2-2.

Anthony Rizzo blooped a ball into left-center on a 3-2 pitch against Brett Cecil. Bryant, who was off on the pitch, raced around to score. Yadier Molina couldn’t handle the throw from Dexter Fowler, giving the Cubs their first lead of the afternoon.

At one point, Chicago (50-46) went nearly five full innings in between hits. And, simply put, when you don’t put the pressure on offensively, it’s harder to win. Thankfully, the Cubs put the pressure on in the bottom of the eighth, coming up with the clutch hits when it mattered most.

Offense comes through when it mattered

The Cubs’ veteran southpaw allowed a mere three hits in eighth innings, striking out 10. He did not walk a single batter, although, as mentioned, two of the three hits allowed left the yard.

Although he didn’t miss many bats (he struck out only three), St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright pitched into the eighth, giving way to the pen with a man on second and two away.

Only Bryant managed multiple hits in the win – an encouraging sign, given his finger injury earlier in the week.

Next: Has the NL Central pecking order shifted?

What’s Next

Chicago concludes its three-game set against the Redbirds on Sunday night at Wrigley Field.

First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. CT. Jose Quintana makes his first start at home for the Cubs, while Michael Wacha takes the ball for St. Louis.