Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/10/23): Cubs 10, Cardinals 3 – Offense Wakes Up, Stops Sweep

The Cubs came into Wednesday trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the rival Cardinals after a pair of lackluster efforts. Chicago’s offense finally came through with men on base and the Wrigley faithful were rewarded with a win.

St. Louis took the lead in the top of the 1st inning when Nolan Arenado hit a two-out triple to score Paul Goldschmidt. Willson Contreras got the best of former batterymate Justin Steele with an RBI single in the 3rd to make it 2-0.

The Cubs finally broke through in the bottom of that frame, beginning with an RBI double from Seiya Suzuki. Patrick Wisdom followed with a long two-run homer to put the home team ahead 3-2. Yan Gomes returned from the concussion IL and added his own two-run dinger against Jordan Montgomery in the 4th inning.

Guess who's back, back again…

It's @Yan_AGomes! pic.twitter.com/4ktwM11tD1

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 11, 2023

Steele was solid the rest of Wednesday giving up just one more run in six innings of work. Chicago busted the game open with three in the bottom of the 6th inning as Christopher Morel and Dansby Swanson each doubled to bring home the runs. Morel knocked in one more in the following frame and the North Siders went on to a 10-4 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs have been extremely frustrated with runners in scoring position recently, including leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd inning Wednesday. Suzuki’s double just inside the right field line seemed to spark the entire lineup. They went 6-for-14 on the evening with RISP and buried the Cards as a result.

Why the Cubs Won

Steele had another good outing and the lineup finally gave one of their starters some run support.

Stats That Matter

• Steele played stopper again on Wednesday: 6 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 3 K, and 3 BB.
• Gomes got on base every plate appearance and had three hits, very happy to have him back.
• Trey Mancini drew three walks and singled on the evening.
• Swanson is piling up extra-base hits right now with six against the Cardinals.

Bottom Line

Getting swept by the Cardinals would have left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, so it’s good that was avoided. Morel is one of the most explosive batters the Cubs have and adding him to the lineup should make a huge difference. Gomes also makes the team better all around. They are going to need all the help they can get because the schedule is about to get rough.

On Deck

Chicago gets Thursday off before beginning a three-game series with the Twins in Minnesota Friday at 7:10pm CT. Drew Smyly does battle with veteran Sonny Gray in a contest exclusively televised on Apple TV+ with the radio feed on 670 The Score.