Bellinger remains red hot, but how long will he be with Cubs?

There have been some awfully hot hitters in the major leagues over the last month.

The Angels' Shohei Ohtani has 11 home runs and is hitting .354. The Braves' Matt Olsen has 11 HRs and a whopping 28 RBIs. The Dodgers' Mookie Betts, the Padres Manny Machado and the White Sox' Luis Robert all have 10 homers and at least 19 RBIs.

But only one guy is terrorizing pitchers to the tune of a .442 batting average and sky-high .473 on-base percentage.

And that's the Cubs' Cody Bellinger.

“It's must-watch television,” raved teammate Justin Steele.

Fans watching Friday saw Bellinger hit a towering 2-run homer in the third inning that helped propel the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over St. Louis at Wrigley Field on Friday. Bellinger (3-for-4) upped his season average to .317 and is riding a five-game hitting streak.

“I mean he's unbelievable,” said Steele, who improved to 10-3. “Great friend. I feel like he's friends with everybody in the clubhouse. ... Love having him here.”

The easygoing Bellinger is doing this damage despite the Aug. 1 trade deadline looming. Most pundits expect the Cubs to trade the 2019 MVP and free-agent-to-be to a contender.

During the postgame scrum, Bellinger was hit with question after question about his situation.

How do you block it all out?

“Just understanding the reality of the game,” he said. “A lot of it is out of my control. ... I can only focus on the game.”

But isn't that hard?

“It is what it is, you know? I just keep my head down and show up every day and play the game of baseball.”

Is the team communicating with you?

“For sure. We're a very open communication group here. I'm in the loop of what could happen.”

Eventually, Bellinger admitted he was in uncharted waters.

“Never been in this situation before, so don't know what to say or not to say. ...

“I just show up to help the team win. I really do. Go out and play baseball. That's what I like doing. That's what I enjoy doing. That's the only thing I really can control.”

Bellinger is only 28 years old and obviously a beloved teammate, so why not lock him into a long-term deal? The flip side, of course, is that some team will likely unload a high-level prospect or two in return.

And then who knows? Maybe Bellinger returns as a free agent in the off-season.

“The guy's an absolute stud of a baseball player and he's a pleasure to be around,” said manager David Ross. “He's the total package for sure.”

Bellinger's home run gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead, but there was plenty of drama coming.

Nolen Arenado ripped a 2-run single in the seventh off Michael Fulmer in the seventh to make it 4-3, and the Cardinals nearly tied the game in the eighth and ninth as the Cubs' bullpen struggled.

But Mark Leiter Jr. got pinch hitter Alec Burleson to ground into a double play with the bases loaded to end the eighth.

Christopher Morel made a two-out error in the ninth, and Adbert Alzolay then hit Cards DH Willson Contreras. Alzolay escaped by getting Tyler O'Neill to fly out to center field to end the game.

Steele, coming off a rough outing against Boston on July 16, gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while walking one and striking out nine. He got into a jam in the second after allowing 3 straight one-out singles but ended up allowing just 1 run.