ST. LOUIS -- The players inside the Cubs’ clubhouse began their day Monday by learning that starter Jameson Taillon -- a well-respected veteran and leader -- had been designated for assignment. It was the latest unexpected turn for a Chicago team that has weathered plenty of storms this season.
Through all the peaks and valleys, the Cubs have continued to pick up wins to remain in the thick of the National League playoff picture. That held true on Monday night, as the North Siders pieced together a 7-3 victory over the rival Cardinals at Busch Stadium as the NL’s current Wild Card leaders.
“Look, I think we have shown that we can play at a high level,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The best thing about a Major League season is you can’t fake your record, man, over 162 games. It’s too many games. And so, I feel like the teams that get to October, they’ve earned it. And we’ve got a long way to go.
“We’ve got a long way to go with a challenging schedule. But, I think this group has shown a really good record. The stuff that happens, it happens to every team. I think there’s been periods during the season when we’ve been up against it pretty good, and during those periods especially, I think we’ve responded exceptionally well.”
Here were three keys to Monday’s win:
1. Bregman flirts with a cycle
Alex Bregman has achieved a lot over the course of his career, but the veteran third baseman has never hit for the cycle. In Monday’s win over the Cardinals, Bregman fell a triple shy of that feat, but nonetheless sparked the Cubs’ offense at multiple turns in a four-hit showing.
In the first inning, Bregman followed a one-out double from Seiya Suzuki with a two-base hit of his own, pulling a slider from lefty Matthew Liberatore up the left-field line to drive in a run. That hit snapped Bregman out of an 0-for-12 slump in the batter’s box.
Bregman then sent a sinker from Liberatore to right field for a leadoff homer in the third inning, giving him 11 shots on the season. In the fifth, Bregman delivered an opposite-field single off righty Hunter Dobbins, paving the way for a two-run single from Nico Hoerner later in the frame.
In the ninth, Bregman sent a Dobbins pitch into right field once again, but the triple was not in the cards. The third baseman finished off his night with another double and his first four-hit game since April 15, 2025. That last hit came ahead of a two-run homer from Hoerner that put the game away for Chicago.
2. Another solid Peterson start
Cubs lefty David Peterson entered Monday’s outing with a 5.57 ERA through four starts since being acquired via trade, but that overall figure is misleading. Ten of Peterson’s 13 earned runs allowed in that span came in one start gone horribly awry.
That rough performance came on July 3 against the Cardinals, so this game in St. Louis presented a good bounceback challenge for Peterson. He responded with 5 2/3 innings, in which he was charged with two runs (one scoring after his exit).
The Cardinals’ only breakthrough with Peterson on the hill came in the second inning, when José Fermín connected with a four-seamer for a two-out, solo homer to left field. The Cubs lefty generated nine outs via grounders and finished with three strikeouts and two walks.
3. Hoerner heating up
There have been signs that Hoerner was possibly turning a corner offensively, and he kept that momentum going in the win over the Cardinals with a four-hit showing of his own.
The two-run single in the fifth inning helped swing the game the Cubs’ way, but that was not Hoerner’s only contribution. In the second, he led off with a single to right off Liberatore and later scored via an RBI single from Miguel Amaya. Hoerner did what he could to start a rally with a two-out single in the seventh but was stranded.
Hoerner capped off his night with the two-run blast off Dobbins in the ninth, giving him a .432 (19-for-44) average over his past 10 games for the Cubs. That came after the second baseman started off July batting .139 (5-for-36) in the first 10 games.