CI Recap (7/22/18) – Cubs 7, Cardinals 2: Quintana Sharp, Cubs Come from Behind Again

After struggling a little in the 1st inning and giving up an early run, Jose Quintana dug deep and pitched wonderfully Sunday. He matched a career high, throwing 121 pitches as he went seven strong. He allowed two runs on six hits and walked four while striking out six.

The Cubs offense did a great job as well, scoring two in the 4th inning off of Miles Mikolas to tie it. They then scored enough runs off of the Cardinals bullpen to have a comfortable lead by the top of the 9th. It was a great way to capture a rare five-game series win (Box score).

Why the Cubs Won

Quintana was fantastic. He not only kept the Cardinals at bay, but also saved the bullpen after the Saturday’s doubleheader. He kept the Cubs in the game long enough for the offense to engineer yet another comeback. The Cubs sent nine men to the dish and scored three runs in the 8th inning to seal the game.

Key Moment

Kyle Schwarber walked up to the plate against Mike Mayers in the 6th inning and was able to get some good wood on the bat for a solo homer that ultimately represented the winning run of the game. Perhaps Mayers lost his mojo against Schwarber, because he had looked pretty good against Javy Baez and Ian Happ earlier in the inning.

Stats that Matter

• Two of Quintana’s four walks were of the intentional variety.
• Six players drove in at least one run today, Willson Contreras drove in two.

Bottom Line

The Cubs won the first series of the second half and improved to 6-7 against the Cardinals on the season. They are currently 58-40 and have a 3.5 game lead in the NL Central.

On Deck

The Cubs welcome the Diamondbacks to Wrigley. Luke Farrell will take the mound for the Cubs and Patrick Corbin gets the ball for the D-backs. The game will start at 7:05pm CT and will be broadcast on CSN-Chicago and ESPN.