The Cubs poured it on last night, knocking Cardinals starter Andre Pallante out of the game in the 2nd inning before eventually racking up nine runs on 13 hits. Colin Rea gave up just one run on three hits over six innings of work, quieting concerns about not replacing him in the rotation. For a few days, anyway.
Now comes a chance to put together a mini streak ahead of games against the Blue Jays and Pirates. This next stretch is of great importance because the Cubs will play the Brewers five times starting next Monday. The real key is preventing the divisional gap from growing beyond its present disparity, as the Cubs would need to sweep the Brewers just to move into a tie.