CHICAGO — A weekend series with third place in the division up for grabs, the trade deadline up in the air, and the All-Star break on the horizon offered the Cardinals license to be aggressive with the use of the bullpen, even to keep a game close and a rally possible.
And manager Mike Shildt was.
The Cardinals’ manager used seven different relievers, including a few of his high-leverage arms, by the end of the seventh inning, and that’s where the game turned.
A close game, within bloop-blast reach of the Cardinals, caved in on the bullpen in the seventh inning as the Cubs scored five runs to do what they have so rarely done in the past two weeks – win.