As Michael Busch jogged toward home, Dansby Swanson and Matt Shaw were waiting for him on the other side of the plate, their hands raised, ready for high-fives.
When the Cubs stormed past the Cardinals 9-1 on Saturday at Busch Stadium, Busch’s three-run home run in the second inning was the clearest sign of an offensive bounce-back from a shutout the night before.
Busch ambushed a hanging slider from Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, hitting it on a line into the first row in right field to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Busch said. “You’re trying to do that every day. No matter if we’re doing really well, doing bad, just showing up and trying to put our best foot forward.”
The Cubs evened the series but didn’t make up any ground on the Brewers, who beat the Mets to maintain their five-game lead in the National League Central. Milwaukee, which has yet to lose in August, extended its winning streak to eight games.
After the series opener Friday featured hard contact with nothing to show for it, the Cubs finally were able to piece together a few rallies, continuing the hard-hit theme.
“It’s easy when you’re going good to look at [Friday] and go, ‘We’re hitting rockets, and tomorrow they’re all going to fall,’ ’’ Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said. “It’s easy when you’re going bad to say, ‘Nothing’s going our way.’ Just the consistency of hard contact, our lineup has been really good at that all year. On a day like today when they fall, you kind of take a deep breath after that.”
Busch started the first rally, roping a line drive up the right-field line. Then with one out, Kyle Tucker hit an RBI single to right field.
Carson Kelly, who had three hits to tie Swanson for the team lead, followed him, scorching a ground ball through the right side. Tucker rounded third and paused as Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker fired to his cut-off man, in line with home plate. But the low throw got between first baseman Willson Contreras’ legs, and Tucker scored.
The next inning, Swanson beat out an infield single, and Shaw drew a walk to set up Busch’s three-run shot. It was his sixth home run this season against the Cardinals, the most any Cub has hit against St. Louis in a season since Derrek Lee in 2005.
It was a dramatic way for Busch to break out of what had been a rough month at the plate. He entered the game with a .139 batting average since July 11.
With the bases empty, Seiya Suzuki hit a double, immediately reapplying pressure. Kelly’s line-drive single to right tacked on another run. With a 6-0 lead, the Cubs already had scored as many runs in the first two innings as they had in their last two games combined.
The Cardinals pulled Pallante with two outs in the second inning. Getting to the bullpen so quickly could have a ripple effect for the Cubs in the series finale Sunday, limiting the Cardinals’ options for the rubber match.
The move didn’t squelch the Cubs’ offensive push. Shaw hit an RBI triple in the third inning and a solo home run in the fifth, his sixth long ball since the All-Star break.
In between, Tucker drew a walk and was moved all the way around the bases by singles from Kelly and Happ.
By the time starter Colin Rea exited after the sixth, having held the Cards to one run and three hits, St. Louis was on its third pitcher.
“For them to score that many runs early kind of takes the pressure off you a little bit,” Rea said. “You don’t have to be as fine. So we were just trying to get some shutdown innings after we scored and get the offense right back out there as soon as possible.”
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