*Photo from ABC7 Chicago*
The latest edition of this rivalry goes to the windy city. Mike Tauchman homered, Yan Gomes drove in 3 runs, and the Chicago Cubs cruised past the St. Louis Cardinals with a 10-3 victory on Thursday night in St. Louis.
With the win, the Cubs have now won 6 games in a row and 8 of their last 10, jumping up to .500 at 51-51 on the season. Gomes and Tauchman combined to drive in half of the 10 runs scored by the Cubs, who started their latest series with their archrivals on the right foot.
Chicago manager David Ross said of the hot streak that "It's about winning games. Break it down by month. We had a bad May. Almost everything else has been above .500. And we're playing good baseball right now. That's the focus. We can't worry about the past and the losses and what the record was and could have been, you know? We look at the day to day and try to focus on winning. How are we going to win tonight's game?"
Dansby Swanson drew a bases loaded walk in the first inning and Christopher Morel hit a two run double, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead after one inning. In the 3rd inning, Gomes and Miles Mastrobuoni hit RBI singles to make it a 5-0 game. Nico Hoerner scored on an error in the top of the 4th to make it 6-0 Cubs.
Andrew Knizner got the Cardinals on the board in the bottom of the 4th inning with a solo home run to make it 6-1. Tauchman made it 7-1 in the 6th inning with a solo home run. Gomes hit a two run double in the 7th to make it 9-1 Cubs. Knizner hit a two run home run for the Cardinals in the 8th to make it 9-3. An RBI single in the 9th by Tauchman made it a 10-3 final.
Justin Steele got the start for the Cubs, allowing one run on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings, striking out 4 hitters. Daniel Palencia pitched a scoreless 7th inning before Anthony Kay allowed two runs in the 8th. Michael Rucker worked the 9th to seal the win.
Miles Mikolas allowed one run and pitched just 2/3 of an inning before getting ejected. Dakota Hudson pitched the next 4 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits and two walks. Andrew Suarez allowed 3 runs in two innings while Drew VerHagen allowed one run in two innings.
The ejection was given to Mikolas after he threw at Ian Happ twice in a row. Previously in his at bat, Happ struck Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras on the back of the head with a backswing after swinging at a pitch, knocking Contreras out of the game, with Knizner replacing him.
Contreras said after the game that "I had a little headache earlier when I got hit, but there’s no concussion or anything like that, so that’s a good sign. I feel fine, and I want to make sure I’m ready to go tomorrow."
Up next, the series continues on Friday night. The Cubs haven't announced a starter as they go for their 7th straight win, while Jordan Montgomery starts for the Cardinals.
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