Eighth inning. Two outs. 3-2 Cubs lead in Game 2 of Saturday's day-night doubleheader.
That's when it became clear the Cubs were not going to be trading for Jacob deGrom.
OK, that's an exaggeration.
But when Pedro Strop gave up a seeing-eye single to Cardinals infielder Yairo Munoz just past the outstretched glove of Ben Zobrist, it was another reminder just how important both Javy Baez and Addison Russell are to the Cubs' success.
Munoz's single tied the game and the wheels fell off from there as the Cardinals scored 3 more in the ninth for a 6-3 win.