Joc Pederson knows what it takes to be a good team. His last game with the Dodgers saw them win the 2020 World Series to complete a long-awaited trip to the top of the sport.
“Details are very important. Good teams take care of the small things,” Pederson said. “There really are no small things; they’re all big. You can see that when two good teams play each other, the ones who make the least amount of mistakes usually win. The littlest mistake that you think is so small could end up losing you a game or a playoff game or a World Series.”
That’s all true, but power, patience and good starting pitching help too as the Cubs saw again Saturday in their 7-2 win over the Cardinals. Homers from Ian Happ, Sergio Alcantara and Pederson plus six innings from Kyle Hendricks helped the Cubs win their fourth straight and keep pace with the Brewers atop the National League Central.
The Cubs entered Saturday’s game having won 26 of their last 39, the best in the National League and second best in baseball over that stretch, and one reason has been their offense. They started the day with 85 home runs, which ranked fourth in the NL, and had the circuit’s fourth-best run differential at plus-33.
Those positive trends continued Saturday in front of a revved-up Wrigley Field crowd of 39,095, with the team’s depth playing a role again.
“That’s the beauty of having a bunch of guys that have been together for a while and have had a ton of success in this league,” Happ said, “and then the guys that are coming up and filling in and becoming big parts of this team have been huge contributors.”
While the Cubs debuted their new City Connect uniforms, there weren’t many masks being worn in the dugout. Cubs manager David Ross said he wasn’t masked because he didn’t have one that matched his uniform, and that he didn’t notice that others weren’t masked.
“I’ll be back to wearing that tomorrow,” Ross said.
Regardless of what the Cubs wore on their faces or bodies, the offense had contributions from plenty of people against Cardinals starter John Gant. Nolan Arenado gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead with a second-inning home run, but that edge didn’t make it through the bottom of the frame.
Following a Willson Contreras walk, Happ got the Cubs in front with an opposite-field two-run homer to left, giving the team a home run in its 12th straight game. Gant’s problems were just getting started, as he walked the next three batters - including Hendricks - and then also handed a free pass to Kris Bryant to extend the Cubs’ lead to 3-1.
Jake Woodford then replaced Gant and gave up a Javy Baez RBI single before hitting Anthony Rizzo with the bases loaded to cap the Cubs’ five-run second.
“When you get our offense to continue to have the at-bats they have, we’re never out of a game,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “We can put up a crooked number pretty fast.”
Hendricks, meanwhile, earned a win in his sixth consecutive start but the home run bug continued to bite him. Following Arenado’s drive, Paul DeJong homered in the third to cut the Cubs’ lead to 5-2, and up the number of home runs allowed by Hendricks to 19.
A turning point came in the third when Hendricks retired Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado with runners on first and second. The Cardinals didn’t threaten Hendricks again.
“There’s a little bit more in there, be better,” Hendricks said. “But overall, it’s trending in the right direction.”
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Cubs use power to beat Cardinals - Chicago Sun-Times
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