London Series: Chicago Cubs dominate St. Louis Cardinals

The Chicago Cubs took care of business against the St. Louis Cardinals in London on Saturday afternoon. From the get-go, they were very good.

Ian Happ gave them a 1-0 lead early on and they took off. They ended up winning the game by a final score of 9-1. There were multiple instances of clutch hitting that allowed them to take a big lead and make life easier on their pitchers.

Happ’s home run that gave them the lead for good was actually one of two home runs that he hit in the game. The man clearly enjoys playing in London as he was as good as he’s been.

Dansby Swanson, Yan Gomes, and Nick Madrigal also had two hits in the game. One of Swanson’s two hits was a big home run that extended the lead in the ninth inning.

Christopher Morel took it one step further. He had three hits in the game to go with an RBI and a run scored. It was a great performance for him as he took his talents overseas.

Everyone was good for the Chicago Cubs in game one of the London Series.

Seiya Suzuki was the only player in the starting lineup that didn’t have a hit but he did have an RBI so everyone contributed some offense.

Justin Steele, speaking of life being easy on pitchers, was outstanding. He had a no-hitter into the fifth inning before finally allowing one. He ended up allowing five hits but just one run and one walk. He also had a really nice total of eight strikeouts.

From there, the bullpen shut down the Cardinals’ offense over the final three innings. They only allowed one hit as a unit.

This is obviously a very fun win considering the location of the game. It is also a very big win in terms of the standings. The Cubs are very much in the mix for the AL Central lead as they are now winners of four straight and 9-1 in their last ten games.

On Sunday, the Cubs will face the Cardinals in the second game of the London Series. They will be looking to sweep it with Marcus Stroman on the mound. So far, so good overseas.