ST. LOUIS — Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas threw breaking balls inside and below the strike zone in consecutive at-bats against the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, who hit both over the fence for the first multi-homer game of his career.
Cubs designated hitter Christopher Morel matched him with a pair of home runs later in the game, also a career first, both on the first pitch of the at-bat.
In the Cubs’ 8-3 win on Sunday, the Cubs’ six home runs tied the record for the most by an opposing team at Busch Stadium. The Cubs’ Tomás Nido and Ian Happ also homered.
“It was fun to watch, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said.
To go with the Cubs’ burst of power in their last game before the All-Star break, their staunch defense helped deflate their in-division rivals.
The effort included inning-ending throw to second from Happ in left field, a diving stop by second baseman Nico Hoerner, a diving catch by shortstop Dansby Swanson, a backhand grab on a sharp grounder by first baseman Michael Busch and a catch running into the wall in the gap by Crow-Armstrong.
“That was incredible,” said starter Jameson Taillon, who held the Cardinals to three runs in 5 ⅔ innings. “I was not even close to my best self today. It was super hot, those dudes were flying all over the field. They play a doubleheader yesterday and they come out today playing that kind of D with that kind of effort – that's pretty inspirational.”
Cubs first baseman Michael Busch added to his highlight reel by handling a grounder hit 100 mph by Brandon Crawford in the fifth inning Sunday. But he made the harder version of the same play the day before in the second game of the doubleheader, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Cardinals’ Alec Burleson hit a 98.7 mph one-hopper to Busch’s right. He snagged the high hop in a dive-slide hybrid.
“First base is a very nuanced position,” manager Craig Counsell said. “There's a lot of instinctual things that you just need game reps with. And then after you feel comfortable with that, then – Michael’s been a middle infielder, he’s been a second baseman, third baseman – physically he should be able to do things there that make him really good at that position.”
When the Cubs acquired Busch from the Dodgers this offseason, they planned to give him regular playing time at first to get him comfortable at the position.
Over the course of the first half of this season, the rookie has established himself as the Cubs’ unequivocal everyday first baseman, both with his glove and his bat. He’s been the team’s best hitter so far this season, entering Sunday with a team-leading 136 weighted runs created plus.
The Cubs selected have the No. 14 and No. 54 overall picks Sunday in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
The remaining 18 rounds of the draft will be spread across Monday and Tuesday.
