CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo felt relaxed and calm as he heard crescendoing cheers from 35,112 fans at Wrigley Field reverberating around the ballpark.
For 14 pitches during the sixth inning Friday afternoon, Rizzo battled against St. Louis Cardinals reliever Daniel Ponce de Leon. Midway through the at-bat, fans started becoming engaged in the showdown. Rizzo sprayed 10 fouls balls into the stands to stay alive, working to a 2-2 count after quickly picking up two strikes.
“I just kept saying to myself after I fouled off pitches, ‘Stay locked in, stay locked in,’ ” Rizzo recalled.
When Rizzo evened the count 10 pitches in, he felt the momentum shift his way. At that point, Rizzo had seen all of Ponce de Leon’s pitches. The right-hander tried to get Rizzo to chase a pitch up in the zone, but the lefty slugger kept fouling them off, believing it was a matter of time before he got something on the inner half of the plate. Rizzo finally bested Ponce de Leon on the 14th pitch of the at-bat — a 96-mph fastball — rocketing the ball into the right-field bleachers.
Rizzo’s game-tying homer in the sixth set off a raucous crowd on a rocking day at Wrigley. The Cubs offense again showed how dangerous the group can be in overcoming a four-run deficit to beat the Cardinals, 8-5, on Friday, the first day the ballpark opened to full capacity since September 2019.
Craig Kimbrel recorded his 16th save with perfect ninth.
“Clearly those fans helped us win that game,” Cubs manager David Ross said.
The Cubs are 26-13 since April 29, giving them the best record in the National League and second-best in the majors behind the Tampa Bay Rays (26-12) in that span.
Rizzo’s homer was the longest at-bat to end in a long ball in the majors since Ryan Braun (also 14) on Aug. 1, 2012, off Fernando Rodriguez Jr. It also marked the longest at-bat to end in a homer by a Cub since at least 1988.
“It’s definitely one of my most memorable at-bats with being 100 percent (capacity) today for the first time and having everyone here versus the Cardinals,” Rizzo said. “It was a really good moment for me.”
The Cubs, who hit three long balls in the victory, have homered in 11 straight games while their 85 home runs are the third-most in the NL behind the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants (both 90).
The Cubs have received support throughout the lineup. Patrick Wisdom was a one-man show the last two weeks with his power production. Sergio Alcántara continues to be an extra-base machine. His RBI triple Friday was his third of the season in 12 games; six of his eight hits are for extra bases.
The Cubs haven’t needed one player to carry the rest of the lineup, a trend that continued Friday against the Cardinals.
“We just know we have that that firepower,” Rizzo said. “And you just keep getting guys up and having good at-bats and you give it to the next guy. And we continue to have the good at-bats, the next guy is going to end up coming up with a hit eventually.”
Joc Pederson remains in rhythm at the plate, picking up where he left off from the West Coast trip. His three-hit day, including his fourth homer in seven games, and three RBIs tied his season high in both categories. Pederson’s two-run double off the right-field wall in the seventh put the Cubs ahead 7-5. Willson Contreras tacked on a solo homer in the eighth.
Pederson’s ability to hit stuff away, inside or with spin has stood out to Ross during his hot stretch, even generating hard contact when he hits into an out.
“Obviously he’s just feeling it right now,” Ross said. “He’s got a good way about him. I think he’s infected this this lineup, this team in a really positive way on a lot of levels.”
The bullpen again helped give the Cubs a chance to come back. Right-hander Kohl Stewart lasted only four innings and was hurt by two walks to Cardinals starting pitcher Johan Oviedo, who scored both times. The Cardinals tagged Stewart for five runs, but the Cubs bullpen didn’t allow another over the final five innings.
Between a dominant bullpen capable of keeping the game close and an offense that can score runs in bunches, the Cubs have shown they can overcome a dud from their starting pitcher. Expecting that to be a regular occurrence isn’t realistic and puts too much pressure on the rest of the roster. But in front of an energizing crowd, the Cubs had everything working Friday.
“When you have a bad start or when things aren’t going as smooth as you would have liked, it’s a confidence boost when you know that those guys are going to come in and put up zeros like today,” Stewart said. “So it’s huge. You’re always in the game and you can’t put a value on that.”
