Christian Bethancourt and Michael Busch hit home runs in a five-run second inning, helping the Cubs beat the Cardinals 6-3 and spoil Erick Fedde’s debut for St. Louis on Friday. This win extended the Cubs’ winning streak to three games.
Tyson Miller (3-1), the first of four relievers, got the win, and Héctor Neris earned his 15th save as the Cubs continued their streak against their NL Central rivals.
Fedde (7-5), who was traded from the White Sox earlier in the week, struggled in the second inning, giving up five runs and six hits while striking out four in five innings. He noted that his poor command led to long at-bats and trouble finishing hitters.
The Cubs’ big inning came against Fedde. Rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong had an RBI single, and Bethancourt hit a three-run homer to right-center field.
Bethancourt said, “I was just trying to hit the ball in the gap. Thank God I got that one very well and hit it out of the park.”
Busch added a solo home run a batter later.
In the eighth inning, Seiya Suzuki scored from second base after Kyle Leahy’s bad pickoff throw rolled into center field.
The Cardinals scored their three runs with bases-loaded walks. Paul Goldschmidt walked in the third inning, and Tommy Pham and Brendan Donovan received walks in the eighth from Julian Merryweather and Neris, respectively. Neris struck out pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford to end the inning.
