Cubs get much-needed win over Cards, snap skid
A certain lightness returned to the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Friday.
And why not?
The Cubs emerged from the gloom that had enveloped them during a six-game losing streak, and they did it in the best way for them: They beat their Gateway Arch Rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Wrigley Field. And they did it playing good, fundamentally sound baseball.
"We needed a win," said first baseman Anthony Rizzo, whose heads-up baserunning in the eighth inning led to him scoring the eventual game-winning run on Jason Heyward's sacrifice fly. "I said a couple days ago it doesn't matter if it's versus the Cardinals, or versus a college team. We needed to win no matter what."
It also helped that the Cubs played in front of a crowd of 41,051 on a summerlike afternoon. Those fans acted like they had kept the faith in a team that's now 26-27
"It's good to come home," Rizzo said. "The atmosphere with the fans is unbelievable today, especially after coming off a six-game skid like that. Fans aren't used to that in the last couple years, so to get this win was nice, just to kind of let everyone loosen up a little bit, I feel like. We beat a good team."
The day was a festive one all the way around, as it always is when the Cardinals come to town and bring their fans with them.
On top of that, former Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler picked up his World Series ring and homered to lead off the game against John Lackey. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the second before the Cubs scored single runs in the third (on Kris Bryant's 12th homer), sixth and eighth.
Lackey seemed to get stronger as he went along, pitching 7 innings of 4-hit ball and getting no decision. He said the key might have been throwing fewer strikes after the first couple of innings.
"They swung a lot," Lackey quipped, referring to the strikes he did get. "Sometimes you can throw too many strikes. There can be too many things that are hittable. Obviously, (I) have a pretty long career and a reputation as a strike thrower. I get a lot of early swings. Sometimes throwing something out of the zone is not always a bad thing."
The Cubs have been a home-run-dependent team, so it was fun to watch them score doing the little things late.
Rizzo led off the eighth by doubling over the head of left fielder Magneuris Sierra. Ben Zobrist grounded the ball to third baseman Jhonny Peralta, who looked at Rizzo. But once Peralta threw to first, Rizzo broke for third, setting up Heyward's sac fly to center.
"Yeah, those are the little things that make good teams," Rizzo said. "I see where Peralta's throwing. I know he's playing off (the bag). It was just one of those plays where he had to go to his backhand a little bit, and he didn't have much time to look me back and set his feet. Once he looked me back, I knew the two middle infielders weren't playing up the middle. They were playing more traditional where they play.
"It's just one of those things where you hope for the best."
While a big weight was lifted with this win, Lackey has been around long enough to know that the season needs time to unfold.
"It's a game," he said. "Like I say to the guys, you've got to just stay in the process right now, just try to win the game today. You can't win 10 games in a day. Just try to play good, try to have a good at-bat and try to throw a good pitch. We'll see where we are here in a month or two."
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