Michael Busch has absolutely destroyed Cardinals' pitching this season

Michael Busch did everything in his power to snap the Chicago Cubs' offense out of its five-week slump on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in the team's lopsided 9-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

That performance likely felt like a recurring nightmare for the Cardinals, who have been absolutely eviscerated by Busch all season long. The sophomore first baseman is having a monster year on the heels of his breakout rookie showing in 2024, with a 146 OPS+ through 110 games. But what he's done against St. Louis, in particular, has been otherworldly.

Cubs' Michael Busch continues to torch the Cardinals at every turn

In eight games against the Redbirds, Busch enters Sunday with a .441/.472/1.059 slash line - driven by six home runs, three doubles and 11 RBI. In five games on the road against St. Louis, he's slashing north of .600 - so it hasn't mattered where he's doing battle with the Cubs' longtime foe, he's delivered all season long.

“It’s always nice to help this club, especially when we’re scuffling a little bit,” Busch said on Saturday. “Always nice to get some runs on the board ... we know what we’re capable of and trying to do that each and every day, no matter if we’re you’re doing really well, doing bad. Just showing up and trying to put our best foot forward."

He, like the team's other big run producers in Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong, has been scuffling of late, with a .580 OPS over the four weeks and a .556 mark over the last two, but the Cubs are hoping Saturday's offensive outburst is the beginning of a long-sought turnaround for the team at the plate.

In Sunday's finale against St. Louis, the Cardinals turn to right-hander Sonny Gray, so we'll likely see Busch atop the Cubs' batting order, despite his overall lack of success in the role this year. Batting in the leadoff spot, he's slashed just .197/.269/.410 - but if you dig a little deeper, he's been quite good leading off a game (1.908 OPS in 15 plate appearances) and setting the table in an inning (.968 OPS in 127 plate appearances), so I don't suspect we'll see him moved out of that role against righties anytime soon.

With PCA's breakout campaign and the focus on Tucker in a walk year, Busch has once again flown under the radar for the Cubs, despite his impressive numbers. But make no mistake, Chicago's first baseman continues to check all the boxes for this team.