ST. LOUIS -- Alex Bregman pumped a fist in the air after sliding into second base in the 10th inning on Thursday afternoon, following his sixth double in the Cubs’ four-day stay at Busch Stadium. The hit sparked a late rally that helped the North Siders claim a series win over their rivals.
Bregman’s go-ahead double in the 10th inning helped Chicago head home on the heels of a 4-2 win over the Cardinals, who have probably seen enough of the veteran third baseman. With a pair of two-base hits on Thursday, Bregman finished the series with a 10-for-18 showing (.556 average) that included seven extra-base hits and seven runs scored.
“He had a good series,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s something to build on, for sure. It’s confidence-building and it’s good for us winning baseball games, as you saw this week. He had a great offensive series.”
Here were three takeaways from Thursday’s victory, which wrapped up a 5-2 trip against the Pirates and Cardinals:
1. Assad’s solid effort
Throughout this season, righty Javier Assad has served as an effective safety net for the Cubs’ pitching staff. Whether needed in the rotation or covering multiple innings in relief, Assad has helped Chicago through its long list of injuries.
“It’s important to have this flexibility,” Counsell said pregame. “As we know, things happen during the season. So, there’s going to be players that have to have this flexibility. It’s kind of why I use the ‘out-getter’ word, because you have to have people that are able to do both.”
After the Cubs’ decision to part ways with Jameson Taillon earlier this week amid his persistent struggles, Assad once again was pulled out of the bullpen and tasked with starting on Thursday in St. Louis. The right-hander did not miss a beat, giving the North Siders 4 1/3 innings in which he held the Cardinals to one run.
Dating back to May 1, Assad has given the Cubs a 2.31 ERA across 50 2/3 innings between seven relief appearances and six starts. In July, the righty has turned in a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings between three starts and two relief outings, including collecting the first save of his career on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
“I thought Javy stepped up,” Counsell said, “and did as much as we possibly could’ve asked him for.”
2. PCA hits another milestone
Pete Crow-Armstrong authored multiple feats in the Cubs’ history book last season, including being the first player to end a campaign with at least 30 homers, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in one campaign.
Crow-Armstrong has already eclipsed 20 homers and 20 steals this season, but found his 20th double in Thursday’s game in St. Louis. With his two-hit (both doubles) showing, the Cubs center fielder became the first Cubs player to achieve a 20-20-20 showing in consecutive years since 1990-91, when Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg did so.
Crow-Armstrong is currently sitting on 24 homers, 21 doubles and 26 steals for the North Siders, putting him on pace for back-to-back years with 30-30-30 output. José Ramírez of the Guardians went 30-30-30 in consecutive years in ‘24-25, but it has not been done in the National League since 2011-12 (Ryan Braun with the Brewers).
3. Saves by the baker’s dozen
After setup man Jacob Webb held the Cardinals in check in the ninth and into the 10th inning -- with the help of a highlight-reel catch by Crow-Armstrong in center in extras -- Counsell called Aaron Civale in from the bullpen.
With the automatic runner on second base, Civale induced a flyout off the bat of pinch-hitter Jimmy Crooks before striking out Lars Nootbaar to end the game. That gave the Cubs reliever his first save of the year and gave Chicago 13 players with at least one save this season. That establishes a new one-year record for the franchise.
The Cubs’ previous record of a dozen players with at least one save was set in 2021 and equaled in ‘25. This year, Chicago has had saves by Webb (five), Trent Thornton (three), Daniel Palencia (three), Caleb Thielbar (two), Jordan Wicks (two), Colin Rea (one), Ryan Rolison (one), Hoby Milner (one), Ben Brown (one), Gavin Hollowell (one), Corbin Martin (one), Assad (one) and now Civale (one).
“It’s just our journey this year with our bullpen,” Counsell said. “Some of it is injury-related. I give Jacob Webb a lot of credit in this thing -- how he’s kind of just handled whatever’s been put in front of him. For the last three months, it’s been the biggest out in the game. He’s handled those outs. I give Jacob a lot of credit in making it possible.”