Early on, this was shaping up to be another one of those sad-sack recap games, or maybe even a one-liner. Alec Mills got himself pounded, allowing five runs including three homers without finishing the third inning, and the Cubs entered the fourth trailing 5-0. (Not only that, the first two innings took an hour. Can’t wait for the pitch clock.)
But the Cubs mounted a stirring five-run comeback in the fourth without a home run, and then the bullpen threw lockdown relief — 7u2153 innings, two hits, two walks, nine strikeouts — and a single by Willson Contreras drove in Nelson Velázquez with what turned out to be the winning run in the 10th, and the Cubs had a satisfying 6-5 win over the Cardinals.