Cubs beat Cards to set stage for Monday tiebreaker

[October 01, 2018]  The Chicago Cubs kept alive their hopes for a third straight National League Central title, defeating the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday afternoon.

Chicago and Milwaukee both finished with a 95-67 record and will need a one-game playoff on Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field to determine the division champ. The loser of that game will still make the playoffs as the NL's top wild-card team, playing host to the Colorado Rockies or the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Rockies play the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday in a tiebreaker to decide the NL West champion.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo scored three runs and went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two singles, one RBI and one walk.

Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty (8-9) took the loss, allowing four hits, three walks and four runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Cubs reliever Allen Webster (1-0) got two outs to close the third inning, earning his first major league win since 2015.

St. Louis opened the scoring with two runs in the first. Matt Carpenter doubled on the first pitch of the game, advanced to third on Jose Martinez's sacrifice bunt and scored on Paul DeJong's single. Patrick Wisdom capped the inning with an RBI single.

Chicago took the lead with a four-run third. With two outs and nobody on, Daniel Murphy doubled and scored on Ben Zobrist's triple. Zobrist scored on Flaherty's wild pitch, and Rizzo hit the go-ahead RBI double. Jason Heyward capped the inning with a run-scoring single.

Cubs shortstop Javier Baez (right) turns a double play over St. Louis Cardinals player Yairo Munoz (34) in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Cubs extended their lead to 8-2 in the fifth as Kris Bryant hit a two-run double and Willson Contreras slugged a two-run homer, his 10th of the season.

St. Louis cut its deficit to 8-4 in the sixth. Wisdom doubled, and Harrison Bader walked before both runners scored on Yairo Munoz's single.

The Cubs got both runs back in the bottom of the sixth. One run scored on reliever Dakota Hudson's error, and the other came in on Albert Almora's infield single.

St. Louis pulled within 10-5 in the seventh as Munoz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. However, Francisco Pena struck out on three pitches from reliever Steve Cishek to end the threat.

--Field Level Media

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