CHICAGO -- Jason Heyward could not believe that the baseball did not find the bleacher seats. Sure, there are line drives right at players, but the ball the Cubs veteran crushed in the fourth inning on Wednesday soared skyward and felt like a no-doubter.

After the ball dropped into the glove of Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader, Heyward ran through second base, dropped to the infield dirt and did some push-ups. In a 4-2 victory over St. Louis in the nightcap of a seven-inning doubleheader, Heyward opted for levity over lamenting.

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"Just tried to have some fun with it," Heyward said. "Keep pushing."

The Cubs (16-8) knew they would be pushed in this five-game, three-day series with the Cardinals. The win on Wednesday sealed a split of the day's twin bill, following a 9-3 loss to St. Louis in the opener. It also gave the division-leading Cubs three wins in the series.

Here are a few things that were learned over the past three days:

1. The lineup keeps grinding
The batted-ball profile of Heyward's rocket shot off rookie Johan Oviedo -- 104.5 mph exit velocity paired with a 29-degree launch angle -- equated to a 96-percent hit probability, per Statcast. Instead, it went into the game log as a flyout to deep center.

The Cubs actually had four of the five hardest-hit balls in the game, with only one falling for a hit.

"That game felt like it should've been a blowout our way," Cubs manager David Ross said.

What the Cubs showed over these past few games was that the lineup can keep providing scoring chances, even amidst frustration.

Chicago was no-hit through five innings in Game 2 on Monday, but then David Bote's late pinch-hit three-run homer fueled a win. On Tuesday, the lineup saw 207 pitches in an exhausting victory. And following a string of squandered chances with the bases loaded, Bote provided a go-ahead two-run single with the bags full in Game 2 on Wednesday.

In the five games, the Cubs hit only .185 (23-for-124) as a team, but reached base at a .350 clip with a 17.7 percent walk rate (28 in 158 plate appearances). There was a surplus of strikeouts (47 for a rate of 29.7 percent), but also an abundance of scoring chances.

"You just try to keep plugging along, keep grinding," Bote said. "We're not going to be successful every single time. But the more times we get there, I really believe that with this lineup and this group of guys, it's just going to tumble on over."

2. Bullpen still has no 'closer'
Over the past couple of weeks, Ross has steered away from applying the closer tag on any of his late-inning relievers. That includes Craig Kimbrel, who is MLB's active leader with 347 saves.

That remained the case on Wednesday night.

"Craig Kimbrel is a good option at the back end of our bullpen," Ross reiterated. "I don't know how many times I have to say that. We're going to try to match everybody up the best we can. But I have no hesitation, as I've said before, of going to Craig."

Armed with a two-run lead in the seventh and final frame, Kimbrel struck out the side and continued his recent turnaround. The veteran stopper sat 97-98 mph with his fastball and used his curveball both to freeze batters for called strikes and to generate whiffs.

Over his past three appearances, Kimbrel has seven strikeouts against one walk, with no hits or runs allowed in three frames. Still, he is fine with Ross' approach, especially with how arms like Jeremy Jeffress, Rowan Wick and Ryan Tepera -- in particular -- have stepped up.

"Those guys have done an unbelievable job," Kimbrel said. "All I can do is go out and pitch and let that happen [earn save chances again]. I mean, I don't walk around with my chest out or anything like that. I can just go out and do it on the field."

3. Alzolay impresses in 2020 debut
The Cubs are currently without right-hander Tyler Chatwood, who is on the injured list with a back issue. Lefty José Quintana is also out, working his way back from a left thumb injury.

Depth behind the rotation was a perceived weakness going into this season, and those recent setbacks complicated matters. But it also gave the Cubs the chance to take a look at prospects Tyson Miller and Adbert Alzolay in the second game of each doubleheader.

In five innings Wednesday night, Alzolay tested out a new two-seamer, combining it with his four-seamer, changeup and curve. The righty ended with six strikeouts, one walk and one unearned run allowed.

"Adbert looked really good. The arm is super quick," Ross said. "It's a guy that's going to pitch big innings for us this season. He's a huge depth piece that we have, and you see tonight what he's capable of. I was extremely pleased."

Alzolay enjoyed hearing Ross' comments on his outing.

"It just tells you how confident the staff is with their players," Alzolay said. "That's awesome when those guys come to you and tell you things like that. It just makes you keep going, just keep working."