HEYWARD LEADS CUBS PAST CARDINALS,
CHICAGO — The All-Star break is over. It’s right about now when the Chicago Cubs usually take off.
Jason Heyward had three hits and two RBIs, Ian Happ belted a two-run homer and the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-6 on Thursday for their fourth consecutive victory.
Chicago and St. Louis returned a day earlier than the rest of the majors, but it sure looked like business as usual for the National League Central leaders. The Cubs improved 150-73 after the AllStar break since 2015, baseball’s best such record over that stretch.
“I just feel like the biggest thing for us is a positive mindset throughout,” Heyward said. “Not getting too high, not getting too low.”
Anthony Rizzo added two doubles from the leadoff spot as Chicago moved a seasonhigh 18 games over .500. Victor Caratini had three hits and scored three times in the opener of a five-game series, and Ben Zobrist delivered a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the Cubs’ five-run fifth inning.
“Just really good at-bats,” manager Joe Maddon said.
With the abbreviated break, Maddon held All-Stars Willson Contreras and Javier Baez out of the starting lineup. Caratini and Zobrist picked up the slack quite nicely as Chicago increased its advantage to a season-high three games over idle Milwaukee.
Yadier Molina matched a career high with four hits for St. Louis, but interim manager Mike Shildt was handed his first loss in his second game in charge after Mike Matheny was fired Saturday. Tommy Pham and Matt Carpenter each hit a solo homer.
“When you’re facing a team like Chicago, you have to bring your ‘A’ game,” Molina said. “We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game with the pitching and defense.”
The Cardinals had a 3-1 lead before the Cubs started teeing off on Carlos Martinez (6-6) in the fifth.
Brian Duensing (3-0) got the last out of the fifth for the win. Pedro Strop got one out for his third save after the Cubs placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list as part of a flurry of pregame moves.