It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to call Monday’s game against the Cardinals the Cubs’ biggest of the shortened season and dropping a fourth consecutive game to St. Louis would have put an exclamation on a forgettable five-game series.
Following three consecutive losses to the Cardinals, the Cubs once large NL Central-lead had evaporated to 1 1/2 games, putting the onus on the Cubs to play like a division leader. They also needed right-hander Kyle Hendricks to pitch like an ace or risk seeing their lead shrink to a 1/2 game and losing streak increase to four.
But in their most important game to date, the Cubs found a way to keep that from happening as Hendricks played stopper and found his signature form in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.