Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/15/24): Cubs 5, Cardinals 1 – An Easy Win? Is That Legal???

It finally happened, the Cubs were able to win a game by more than three runs on Saturday afternoon. Shōta Imanaga kept the Cardinals’ hitters quiet and Chicago’s offense expanded on a lead with a late-inning homer to create that very rare comfortable victory.

St. Louis struck first in the 4th inning when Alec Burleson doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Arenado. That was the only run Imanaga would allow on Saturday in seven impressive frames.

The Cubs rallied to take the lead with a little small ball in the bottom of the 4th. A well executed hit and run put runners on the corners and knocked Cardinals starter Andre Pallante out of the game in favor of Chris Roycroft. Nico Hoerner hit a dribbler in front of the plate that Roycroft dropped for an error that scored a run and Dansby Swanson then grounded out to bring home the go-ahead tally.

It appeared as though the North Siders were going to ask their bullpen to somehow protect a 2-1 advantage after Imanaga struck out Brendan Donovan to get out of a jam in the 7th. Ian Happ then came up against left-hander John King with two on and two out in the bottom of the frame and lifted a high fly ball to left center that carried into the second row of the bleachers for a huge three-run homer.

Things you love to see: pic.twitter.com/a2YMvNJyW6

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 15, 2024

Tyson Miller came on from the bullpen and retired the last six Cardinals hitters in order to close out the 5-1 win with refreshingly little drama. (Box score)

Key Moment

St. Louis had men on first and second with one out in the 7th down by a single run. Imanaga got Dylan Carlson to hit a lazy fly ball to left and then struck out Donovan to protect the lead, which the Cubs were able to build on immediately after.

Why the Cubs Won

They offered some run support to aid a quality outing by one of their starters. That offense also took the pressure off the bullpen, amazing how much that helps.

Stats That Matter

• Imanaga is back on his game after that little two start bump in the road: 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 6 K, and 0 BB.
• Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger each had two hits and a walk.
• The Cubs definitely need to get more power from Happ, and honestly the whole team, going forward.
• Miller has been the most consistent reliever since coming over from Seattle in May.

Bottom Line

Saturday’s game demonstrates just how important home runs are to winning baseball games. Watching the Cubs over the last six weeks, it’s obvious just how hard it is stringing together a bunch of singles to score runs. Instead, just one swing of the bat gave Chicago their biggest lead in weeks. It might not be a purist’s ideal version of the game, but I certainly enjoyed watching it.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is an early one kicking off at 12:05pm CT. Jameson Taillon tools with Miles Mikolas with a television broadcast exclusively on the Roku channel and a radio feed on 670 The Score.