This series was billed as a measuring stick for a Cardinals club trying to prove it still belongs in the playoff picture. Instead it's turned into batting practice for Chicago, and the gap between these two teams looked a lot wider than the standings suggest.
Chicago put this one away early and never let St. Louis sniff a comeback, piling up 17 hits against a Cardinals pitching staff that had no answers. It's the kind of game that buries a losing streak — the Cubs have now won 4 of their last 5, and they've beaten the Cardinals in back-to-back blowouts to close this series out.
St. Louis has lost 4 of its last 5 and this was the low point, a total no-show at home in front of a crowd hoping for a signature statement win. Between the injury list and a bullpen that keeps coughing up leads, the Cardinals look like a team running out of answers with the calendar working against them.