Chicago Cubs Score

Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/29/23): Cubs 5, Cardinals 1 – 8th Consecutive Win Makes Cubs Look Like Contenders

Photo of Sean Holland Sean HollandJuly 30, 2023

The Cubs kept their tear going Saturday night in a rain-soaked matchup with the Cardinals. Chicago combined excellent defense with more than enough power and was able to take home an eighth-consecutive victory.

After a two-hour delay, St. Louis struck first against Jameson Taillon in the opening inning. Lars Nootbaar hit a sacrifice fly after a pair of singles, but a double play limited the damage to a single run. The Cubs starter would not allow another run in his outing.

Ian Happ continued his career-long dominance of veteran Adam Wainwright with a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the 3rd inning. Yan Gomes doubled Chicago’s total with another two-run dinger in the following frame to make it 4-1.

Taillon pitched six strong innings to keep Cardinals from getting back into the game. Mike Tauchman doubled home Nick Madrigal, back Saturday from his injured hamstring, to increase the Cubs lead to 5-1. St. Louis threatened in both the 7th and the 8th but were unable to score and it remained a four run advantage.

Rookie Daniel Palencia tossed a perfect 9th to seal the game and win the series. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cardinals loaded the bases against Mark Leiter Jr. with two outs in the 8th inning and manager David Ross replaced him with Javier Assad. The bespectacled righty coaxed a comebacker from big right fielder Jordan Walker to escape the jam.

Why the Cubs Won

Not a complicated formula: Another quality start backed up by several nice defensive plays and a couple of home runs.

Stats That Matter

  • Taillon had some control issues but he avoided the big hit and had another quality performance: 6 iP, 1 R, 2 H, 4 K, and 4 BB.
  • A very nice return from Madrigal with a pair of hits and two outstanding plays at third base.
  • Tauchman had three more knocks and has his OPS up to .771 for the season.

Bottom Line

Before this road trip, the thinking was that the Cubs probably had to go 5-1 or 6-0 to really push themselves into buying mode. Well they have guaranteed themselves the former and have a chance for a perfect trip. This is their longest winning streak since 2016 and I don’t think many people thought they had this in them. They are absolutely in the race and it would be malpractice not to try and add to help this team’s playoff push. They have earned the chance with their terrific play.

On Deck

The Cubs go for the sweep Sunday afternoon at 1:15pm CT. Kyle Hendricks gets the start against left-hander Steven Matz with coverage on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Photo of Sean Holland Sean HollandJuly 30, 2023
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