Michael Wacha took a shutout into the seventh inning before the Cubs put up a five-spot to beat the Cardinals 5-1 at Busch Stadium. Addison Russell’s three-run homer erased a 1-0 deficit as Chicago clinched the NL Central. Paul DeJong singled in the lone run for St. Louis. John Lackey got the win. Lackey improved to 12-and-11, holding St. Louis to one run over six innings.
>>Cardinals Close Out Series With Cubs Tonight
The Cardinals and Cubs meet one more time tonight at Busch Stadium. It’s the finale of their four-game series, with Lance Lynn slated to start for St. Louis and Kyle Hendricks for Chicago. The Cardinals have lost four of their last five games to slip to 82-and-76. They’re three-and-a-half out of a wild card spot with four games to play.
>>Cubs Earn Third Straight Playoff Berth
The Cubs are headed back to the postseason for the third consecutive year. Chicago clinched its second straight NL Central title with a 5-1 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. That eliminated the Brewers from contention for the division crown. The Cubs will play the NL East champion Nationals in the National League Division Series.
>>Reds Blank Brewers Behind Bailey
Homer Bailey fired seven shutout innings as the Red blanked the Brewers 6-0 in Milwaukee. Baily gave up four hits and struck out four to improve to 6-and-9. The Reds piled up five runs in the third inning, led by Tucker Barnhart’s two-run homer and three RBI singles. Joey Votto also went deep for Cincinnati. Brandon Woodruff gave up six hits and six runs and got chased in the third inning for Milwaukee. The Brewers are two-and-a-half games behind the Rockies for the second NL wild card spot with just four games left.
>>Rockies Use Big Innings To Hook Fish
The Rockies scored six times in the second inning and five in the sixth to open a 14-3 lead and cruise to an 15-9 win over the Marlins at Coors Field. Ian Desmond went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBI for Colorado. Trevor Story also went 2-for-4 with four RBI and Charlie Blackmon had three hits and drove in three for the Rox. Jon Gray pitched six innings of three-run ball to move to 10-and-4.
