Rizzo now has 31 homers and 101 RBIs.
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A Cubs fan holds his Wflag as St. Louis Cardinals fans look on during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium.
Anthony Rizzo hit a pair of home runs and drove in three to become the second left-handed Cubs hitter with multiple 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in franchise history, joining Hall of Famer Billy Williams, according to MLB.com.
When they meet the Cubs here next April 3, it will be the first season the Cardinals have opened at home since 2011.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Jon Lester gave the Chicago Cubs a much-needed boost. After clinching at least a wild-card spot with a win at St. Louis on Wednesday afternoon, it’s simply a matter of when Chicago clinches the division, as its magic number has fallen to one with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
The Cubs – owners of baseball’s best record, 93-52 – would clinch their first division title since 2008 with a victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a 10-game homestand.
Two Chicago Cubs stars – one an MVP candidate and one a potential Cy Young victor – brought their team to the brink of a division title on Wednesday.
The Dodgers took advantage of errors by second baseman Starlin Castro and Betances (3-5) to increase their NL West lead to five games over San Francisco.
Lester joked that he couldn’t really remember far back enough to determine whether this his best stretch. It was the sixth consecutive start in which Lester has allowed zero or one run. He was just as strong near the end of the game as at the beginning; he entered the seventh having thrown only 80 pitches, and got through the seventh with two two-pitch groundouts and a five-pitch strikeout.
“Today was one of those days were he had both (pitches) working and he wasn’t missing over the middle and he was even throwing some curveballs and changeups to keep you off of everything”, Moss said. Wacha, who was 7-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 23 starts before being but on the disabled list on August 9, will pitch out of the bullpen for the season’s remainder. He also helped his cause at the plate with an RBI single in the third.
“It seems like every time I give up a run, it leaves the yard”, said Hammel.
– Twins slugger Brian Dozier now has 41 home runs this season, the third-highest single-season total ever by a Major League Baseball second baseman.
“It’s been the Cardinals’ division for many years now, ever since I gotten over here”, Rizzo said. In two of the three games here, Cubs starting pitchers allowed a combined four hits in 16 innings.
ATLANTA – Jose Fernandez bounced back from a rocky start to retire 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. He struck out nine and walked two. The Cardinals trail the Mets by a half game for the second and final wild card playoff spot.
The Cardinals’ loss dropped them to 33-41 at Busch Stadium and assured them of their first losing season at home since 1999. While the Cards and other playoff hopefuls anxiously watched the wild-card standings, the Cubs anxious about how many cases of bubbly they needed for the clubhouse. “Then we can make our appropriate plans going forward and really set things up to make our best push”. RHP Trevor Rosenthal (right shoulder inflammation) could be activated from the DL tomorrow.
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The pitching matchups for the first three games of the series are: Adam Wainwright (11-8, 4.45 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto (15-5, 2.90 ERA), 9:15 p.m. Thursday; Luke Weaver (1-2, 3.48 ERA) vs. Matt Moore (3-4, 4.05 ERA), 9:15 p.m. Friday; and Mike Leake (9-10, 4.60 ERA) vs. Jeff Samardzija (11-10, 4.07 ERA), 8:05 p.m. Saturday.
