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A week ago the Cubs saw their division lead go down to one game after losing two of three to the Brewers at home. Since then, they’ve flown to Washington D.C. for a makeup game, back to Chicago for a series against the Reds and then a trip to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks. All of this while the team approaches 30 straight days with a scheduled game. And as bad as Cubs fans felt, myself included, seeing the offense struggle against the Brewers, the Cubs have actually gained 2.5 games since that series.
It seems that for the majority of September the Cubs have been playing in close games, even the wins have felt like torture. Well, they finally got a relaxing, blowout victory on Tuesday, beating the Diamondbacks 9-1.
The Cubs jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after two innings, as Javier Baez smashed his 33rd home run of the season in the first inning to get things started.
Javy walks the walk. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/hl6oqbAH4F
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 19, 2018
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Then, Daniel Murphy broke out of his slump in a big way. He began the game with a leadoff single and after Ian Happ drove in Jason Heyward to make it 3-0, Murphy drilled a two-run homer of his own.
Better make it five. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/p0b8VouNhY
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 19, 2018
That was more than enough for Mike Montgomery, who continued the dominance from the Cubs’ starting rotation. Montgomery pitched six innings, allowed one run, four hits and a walk, while recording a season high eight strikeouts. His change up was making the Diamondbacks look helpless at the plate.
Cubs starters lead the majors with a 2.50 ERA since the middle of August.
#Cubs starters lead @MLB with a 2.50 ERA since Aug. 16. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/g6q0gkQWXd
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 19, 2018
Alec Mills pitched two scoreless innings and Brandon Kintzler finished things off with a scoreless ninth.
The offense added on in the middle innings, with a two-run single by Anthony Rizzo. He really deserved that run-scoring hit that got through the infield, as he lined out his first two times, including a 17-pitch at-bat in the first inning.
Willson Contreras and Albert Almora Jr. also had RBIs.
So, the Cubs had an easy win and also saw their division lead go to 3.5 games.
The Brewers lost to the Reds 3-1 on Tuesday. Since winning their series against the Cubs, Milwaukee has gone 2-3, scoring four runs in the three losses. The Brewers have 10 games left and are also losing ground in the Wild Card race.
The Cardinals won their third game in a row and are now two games behind the Brewers for the top NL Wild Card spot.
As far as the division race goes, with the win and Brewers loss, the magic number to clinch a third consecutive division title for the Cubs is down to eight.
The Cubs have 11 games left and Wednesday’s series finale in Arizona will technically be their final road game, as they fly back to Chicago to start a three game series against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Then, the Cubs end the regular season with four games against the Pirates and three against the Cardinals.
So, the Cubs are in pretty good shape after winning five of their last six games and will be looking to get a sweep on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, as Cole Hamels is scheduled to start.
