The Cubs and Cardinals were locked in a scoreless staring contest into the 6th inning at Wrigley on Friday, and then Seiya Suzuki decided he was done waiting. He turned on a pitch and sent it out for a three-run shot that put Chicago up 3-0, and that swing ended up being the whole ballgame.
Suzuki rounds first as the graphic confirms the 3-run homer, with Cubs up 3-0 on the Cardinals in the bottom of the 6th.
It was Suzuki's 21st homer of the season, and it didn't just sit there — he added a double in the 8th to cap a big night at the plate. The Cardinals had nothing going against Cubs starter Clay Holmes, who retired the first 16 batters he faced and finished with 6⅔ innings of one-hit ball, walking just one. It was a huge bounce-back for Holmes, who'd gotten roughed up for 4 runs in 4 innings in his previous outing against Kansas City.
Barstool Chicago got in on it too, with the timeline lighting up over who actually came down with the souvenir ball in the outfield seats.
Fans scramble for the home run ball in the stands as Suzuki circles the bases on the 3-run shot.
The bullpen made sure the lead held up — Ryan Rolison, Ryan Zeferjahn and Jacob Webb combined to allow just two hits the rest of the way, and Chicago closed it out 3-0. That's 9 wins in their last 11 games for a Cubs team that's very much rolling right now.
Suzuki's been a steady presence in that Cubs lineup, and nights like this are exactly why. One clean swing in the 6th, off a shutout into a laugher, and Wrigley gets a highlight and a pun-friendly headline in the same at-bat. Cardinals fans, meanwhile, just watched their offense get no-hit for five-plus innings and then buried by a three-run bomb — rough way to lose one.