Cubs blowout Cardinals for series win |
CHICAGO - When we sit back and reflect on the Chicago Cubs (48-51) 2023 season, this last 10-game homestand may go down as the Cody Bellinger coming out party. The former MVP has been on a tear since returning from the IL, but what he has done in July, especially the past 10 games, is nothing short of incredible.
With a massive series and a huge homestand, Bellinger continued to have his way with just about anyone as he connected for another homer and three more RBIs. That makes for seven RBIs in the past two games against the St. Louis Cardinals (44-56) and 12 RBIs over the course of the homestand. Pair his efforts with another outstanding start from Jameson Taillon, and the Cubs crushed the Cardinals 7-2 as Bellinger outscored the Cardinals himself to cap off the series win. Say what you want about Taillon and his 5.75 ERA this season, but he has been much better his last five times out. Going back to his final start before the break against the Yankees, many felt he started to turn the corner, and Sunday is continued proof of that. Taillon continues to struggle with high pitch counts at times but still managed to pitch into the sixth to give the Cubs 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He walked one and struck out six as he continued to figure it out on the mound. Opposing him was the Cardinal's most consistent starter, Jordan Montgomery, as he entered the game with an ERA close to 3.00 despite a losing record. Since joining the Cardinals staff a few years ago at the deadline, he has owned this Cubs team as they haven't been able to do much of anything against them. Sunday was a different story as Montgomery was lit up in his six innings of work, allowing seven total runs, with five coming as earned runs. His ERA is still 3.37, which shows how good he has been despite his 6-8 record on the season. Ironically, both unearned runs against Montgomery came in the first as a two-out fielding error extended what would have ended the first. Bellinger made the Cardinals pay for that mistake as he continues to destroy left-handers this season and belted his 14th homer to put the Cubs in front for good, 2-0. Following a scoreless first from both sides, the Cubs offense was back to work in the third as Montgomery continued to labor. This time it was a Patrick Wisdom leadoff walk to get things started, with Seiya Suzuki adding a walk two batters later. With Ian Happ singling to load the bases, Bellinger was back in the box with an opportunity to do significant damage. Despite not picking up a hit, he did bring home a run as his sacrifice fly made things Bellinger 3 and Cardinals 0. This was only the beginning for the Cubs as they pushed across five runs in the bottom of the third to bust the game open 7-0. Dansby Swanson followed that sacrifice fly with a single to make things 4-0, with Yan Gomes adding a double to extend the lead to 6-0. Trey Mancini followed that double with one of his own as the Cubs led 7-0. Granted, this was the final run the Cubs would score on the afternoon, but when you look at how well Taillon was pitching early on, you had to like their chances. The first sign of trouble for Taillon came in the fourth when he allowed singles to Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson only to get out of the inning without any damage. A scoreless fifth followed that before the Cardinals finally started to get something done against him in the sixth. Arenado started the top of the sixth with a single before a double play had Taillon on the verge of getting out of the sixth. That was followed by the Burleson and singles from Ivan Herrera and Dylan Carlson as the Cardinals started to mount a two-out rally to make things 7-1. That was the final batter Taillon would face as Michael Rucker took over, walking the first hitter he faced before ending the frame without any further damage. With the Cubs offense now struggling to score against the Cardinals pen, it would be up to their pen to hold the lead, and after Anthony Kay tossed a scoreless seventh, things were looking good. Kay would return to pitch the eighth and walked Tyler O'Neill to start things off before giving way to Javier Assad. Assad struck out the first batter he faced before Carlson came through with his second RBI hit of the game to make things 7-2. That would be the final run of the game for either side as Assad took care of the rest to retire the final four hitters faced to give the Cubs a series win. Despite being outhit 8-7 in the win, the Cubs made their hits count as Swanson led the way with two hits. Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Happ, Gomes, and Mancini added the rest of the hits, with Bellinger picking up another huge three-RBI game. The Cubs will have off on Monday before heading to the Southside to take on the White Sox for the first time this season.
