Chicago Cubs staying cool while keeping hot
ST. LOUIS - Nobody with the Cubs seems to be getting too far ahead of things.
That includes general manager Jed Hoyer, who joined the team for Tuesday night's game against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
If Hoyer arrived any later, he might have missed his team jump on the Cardinals for a second straight game. This time the Cubs hit the Cardinals with 2 runs in the first inning - on Anthony Rizzo's 100th career homer - and 4 more in the second, highlighted by Starlin Castro's 3-run blast.
That sent the Cubs on their way to a second straight win over the Cards, 8-5, and their fifth overall, improving their record to a season-best 23 games over .500 at 80-57. The third-place Cubs are now 6½ games behind the struggling first-place Cardinals, and they remained 2 behind second-place Pittsburgh.
The Cubs had to hang on to get this victory.
Starting pitcher Jason Hammel worked into the seventh inning but gave up a leadoff walk to Yadier Molina, a pinch homer to Randal Grichuk and a walk to Mark Reynolds before exiting in favor of Justin Grimm. By the time the inning ended, the Cardinals had scored 5 runs to make a game of it.
With each victory, the Cubs tighten their grip on a playoff spot, but Hoyer isn't making October plans yet, at least publicly.
"I like the way our team is playing," he said. "We played with a lot of energy the last week. We came out of the Cincinnati series, which was a little stumble and picked it right back up against Arizona and (in Monday's 9-0 victory over the Cardinals). We're 85 percent or so through a race, and we've got to finish it off.
"There's no point in thinking of how you're positioned or where you are. Just keep playing hard. Keep playing well, and I think things will take care of themselves."
The immediate future seems to hold postseason play in store for the Cubs. Pennant-race baseball has brought the crowds back to Wrigley Field to the tune of 36,142 per game.
That may help in the longer term, such as this coming winter, when the Cubs look to add players and further strengthen what has turned into a good team through added dollars for the baseball department.
"I expect that it will," Hoyer said. "The lack of success on the field (in recent years) pushed the attendance number down. I think we're getting that number way back up. It's been a lot of fun for me to watch when you go to the ballpark and know there's going to be roughly 40,000 people there every day. It's been a great atmosphere."
Whether that means the Cubs can land another big free agent or make several moves this off-season, Hoyer said the point is to have options.
"I think what we really want is the flexibility to make good decisions, whether it's one move or a series of moves, that's what you ultimately want, the ability to continue improving something we think has a really good future," he said.
What has been remarkable to watch of late is Castro's resurgence. He was 2-for-4 with 3 runs and 4 RBI. He is 32-for-99 (.323) over his last 34 games and has stayed upbeat despite losing his everyday job.
"I just continue to work," he said. "It doesn't matter if I don't play. Just continue to work … and keep ready when my time comes. I've been here for a long time. I know I can play. The team plays pretty good. Whatever is good for the team, keep focused, keep concentrating.
"It's great. We always come in here, and we lost. But now we come in here, and we like to compete and try to win games."