ST. LOUIS – Once again, the brooms came out for the Cubs in the 2022 season, and for the first time against their division rival.
After coming back to win Game 1 on Thursday afternoon 4-3 at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals once again able to pull away in the later innings to beat the visitors with a little more room to spare.
Tied at two in the seventh, St. Louis scored three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to beat the Cubs 7-2 and capture a series sweep – which is something the Cubs have dealt with a fair amount in a difficult 2022 season.
This marks the fifth time that the team has been swept in a series that’s gone three-or-more games during this campaign. It happened against the Dodgers twice (May 7-8 at Wrigley Field, July 7-10 at Dodger Stadium), Yankees (June 10-12 at Yankee Stadium), and Padres (June 13-16 at Wrigley Field).
All have dropped the Cubs to 41-63 on the season as they now fall into last place in the NL Central, sitting a full game behind the Reds who are in fourth. They’ll return to Wrigley Field for a six-game homestand starting against the Marlins on Friday.
It could have been a series win for the Cubs had they been able to perform better in the later innings against the Cardinals, but things got away in both games after the seventh. After tying it in the top of the frame, the Cubs lost the least when Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer off newly acquired reliever Kervin Castro.
Tommy Edman padded the lead with a 2-RBI double in the eighth that sent the Cubs to their fifth sweep of the 2022 season.