Cardinals able to battle back vs. Chicago Cubs
Few teams in the past 20 years have had the kind of success enjoyed by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Thirteen playoff appearances. Ten division titles. Four World Series appearances … and two titles.
So the fact that the Cubs own a 12-game lead over their fiercest rival after a 6-4 loss to St. Louis at Wrigley Field on Sunday night didn't mean all that much to manager Joe Maddon.
"I've learned to take nothing for granted," Maddon said beforehand. "I'm sitting here because I never did.
"They're good. And they're going to be really good again soon. They're banged up and they're going to do some other things to get well."
The Cardinals are dealing with numerous injuries to key players, yet still are very much in the wild-card hunt with Miami, New York, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles/San Francisco for those two spots.
As for the Cubs, they've all but wrapped up the NL Central. Even if Maddon's 73-43 squad plays .500 ball in its last 46 games, the Cardinals (62-56) or Pirates (59-56) would have to win at better than a 75-percent clip to catch up.
Maddon, though, knows better than to count St. Louis out of a playoff berth or to believe the Cubs are about to embark on a yearslong stretch of dominating one of the most consistent teams in the National League.
Said Maddon: "Right now you just want to take advantage of the moment as much as you possibly can, knowing the tradition and the stellar organization that it's been - they're going to come right back at us very soon."
For the second straight game, the Cardinals did exactly that by erasing a 2-run deficit with a huge eighth inning. One day after scoring 6 runs in the eighth in an 8-4 victory, St. Louis erupted for 5 on Sunday.
Stephen Piscotty, who had sent balls to the warning track in the first and fifth innings, did most of the damage with a towering 3-run homer off Hector Rondon (2-3) that made it 4-3 Cardinals. The Cubs then found themselves down 6-3 after a Brandon Moss home run and an RBI double by Randal Grichuk.
"I feel really good," said Rondon, who had been out with a triceps injury. "I missed the location and they got me. … It's hard for me right now because we lose the game; I feel like it's my fault."
Anthony Rizzo led off the Cubs' eighth with his 25th home run to make it 6-4, but the Cubs could get no closer. Rizzo was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.
John Lackey went 6⅔ innings for the Cubs but left after feeling tightness in his shoulder on a pitch to Grichuk. Justin Grimm entered and struck Grichuk out on one pitch.
Lackey said he has felt tight since taking an extra bullpen session.
"Nothing crazy," he said. "Trust me I've been out there feeling a lot worse. I'll be all right."
The Cubs ended up splitting the four-game series with St. Louis, something they would have taken before it began. Of course, as Maddon pointed out, when you win the first two games "that's the part you don't necessarily like. However we played well. Every time we play well - even if we lose - I'm OK."
As are the Cubs, who despite these two tough setbacks, should have no trouble rolling to their first division title since 2008.
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