CHICAGO – After the Cubs uncorked the bottles of champagne in Pittsburgh throughout their final highway journey – celebrating clinching the franchise’s first postseason berth in 5 years – the ballclub started to show its consideration to the following purpose. The group wished to carry October baseball again to Wrigley Area.
On Saturday afternoon, Michael Busch belted a pair of homers in a four-hit exhibiting to assist make that occur by way of a 7-3 victory over the rival Cardinals on the Pleasant Confines. With the win, the Cubs averted a cross-country flight to San Diego, as a substitute incomes the proper to host the best-of-three Nationwide League Wild Card Sequence, starting on Tuesday.
“Having the ability to give these followers October baseball, that’s going to be actual particular,” Cubs middle fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong mentioned this week. “We all know learn how to play ball right here. We love embracing every little thing that comes with this place.”
The win helped the Cubs (91-70) enhance their cushion over the Padres (88-72) to 2 1/2 video games for the NL’s high Wild Card spot with just one sport left within the regular-season slate. Chicago additionally hosted a Wild Card Sequence in 2020, however with no followers in attendance. The final packed home at Wrigley for a playoff sport was in ‘18, when the Cubs took on the Rockies within the Wild Card Recreation.
“I’m excited to be part of it,” Busch mentioned. “There’s no higher fan base than the town of Chicago. They’ve been so good to us all yr.”
Busch powered the North Siders to the win column with the third multihomer efficiency of his profession, launching dwelling runs Nos. 33 and 34 on the yr. The Cubs’ first baseman slugged a leadoff shot off Cardinals righty Michael McGreevy within the first inning and added a two-run blast off the starter within the fifth.
Busch additionally doubled into the left-center-field hole within the third inning and knocked in a run with a triple deep into the right-center-field hole within the seventh. In complete, he completed a single in need of a cycle and with 13 complete bases. Busch turned the primary participant in Cubs historical past to have a pair of video games with at the least 13 complete bases in the identical season. He additionally had 13 in his three-homer outburst towards the Cardinals on July 4.
Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Busch’s efficiency marked solely the thirtieth particular person sport within the Majors with a double, a triple and two dwelling runs up to now 125 seasons. To place that into perspective, there have been 306 cycles in that very same span.
Langs famous that Busch was one among solely seven gamers to have two video games in a season with 13-plus complete bases. He’s the primary to take action towards the identical opponent.
“Michael Busch Day, for certain,” mentioned McGreevy.
Within the eighth inning, the Cardinals deliberately walked Busch – denying him the chance to hit for a cycle – bringing on a loud refrain of boos from the Wrigley devoted.
“Rightfully, it was not met with friendliness from the house crowd,” Cubs supervisor Craig Counsell mentioned. “But it surely’s only a baseball choice.”
“Selfishly, I wished the at-bat,” Busch mentioned. “However there’s nothing higher than the victory itself.”
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson mentioned he understood the choice, however he nonetheless wished St. Louis had let Busch take one other swing.
“I hate that we clearly didn’t get an opportunity at some historical past at present for him,” Swanson mentioned. “I hate it for Buschy. However I suppose I’d be slightly bit sick of watching him hit quite a lot of homers and all that form of stuff, too.”
In 11 video games towards St. Louis this yr, Busch has turned in a .467/.510/1.222 slash line with 9 dwelling runs, 5 doubles and 17 RBIs. His 9 homers towards the Cardinals equal a single-season franchise document for a Cubs batter, becoming a member of Corridor of Famers Ernie Banks (1955) and Hack Wilson (1929) on that brief record. Busch can be the primary participant bearing that identify to homer in Busch Stadium, the Cardinals’ dwelling ballpark.
Seiya Suzuki additionally acquired in on the motion on Saturday, clubbing a solo homer within the sixth inning for the North Siders. The Cubs’ proper fielder has homered in three consecutive video games – piling up 4 in that stretch – to run his season complete as much as 31 blasts. After which within the eighth inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong despatched a pitch off the right-field scoreboard for a two-run shot, his thirty first of the yr as properly.
That offensive exhibiting backed a stable effort from Cubs veteran Jameson Taillon, who restricted the Cardinals to 1 run over six innings. As issues at present are lined up, Taillon appears just like the potential Recreation 3 starter for the Cubs if the NL Wild Card Sequence towards the Padres had been to go the gap.
One factor is for sure: The Cubs shall be taking part in at dwelling.
“It’s a very good feeling,” Counsell mentioned. “To me, it’s largely in regards to the those who help us for 81 video games having the ability to see us play once more. That’s actually vital and that’s actually particular. After all, as a group, we wished to play right here. It’s Wrigley. It’s dwelling.”
