Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/18/20): Cubs 6, Cardinals 3 – Yu Darvish Dominates, Ian Happ Stays Hot as Cubs Down Cards

It took more than four hours and 372 pitches for the Chicago Cubs to put away the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs won tonight by the score of 6-3 behind a Yu Darvish quality start and another great performance from Ian Happ in the leadoff spot.

Happ started things off for the Cubs in the bottom of the 3rd inning with a solo bomb to left-center off Cards starter, Daniel Ponce de Leon. Jason Heyward made it 2-0 Cubs with an RBI triple into the right-field corner that scored Willson Contreras in the bottom of the 4th.

After working his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the 4th, Darvish gave up his only run in the 5th inning on a Paul Goldschmidt single that plated Kolten Wong.

The Cubs kept grinding away in their at-bats though and it paid off. Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run blast on a 3-2 pitch in the 5th to make it 4-1 Cubs. In the 7th inning, Victor Caratini hit an RBI double and Jason Kipnis tacked on a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs some insurance at 6-1.

And, of course, they’d need the insurance as the bullpen scuffled a bit in the 8th. However, Rowan Wick came in for a four-out save and shut the door on the Cards chances. The Cubs have now taken two of the first three in this five-game set. (Box Score)

Why the Cubs Won

Darvish threw six solid innings, the bullpen hung on, and the lineup kept on grinding and grinding the Cardinals bullpen into submission.

Key Moment

Darvish wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the 4th inning and the Cubs up just 1-0. A soft comebacker, a strikeout, and fly out to Heyward got him out of the only real jam he had to deal with in six strong.

Stats That Matter

• Happ is now slashing .313/.439/.627 after a single, home run, and two walks from the leadoff spot tonight. Keep him there.
• Cubs hitters saw 207 pitches in 8 innings in this game. That’s not a misprint.
• Cubs got a hit or walk from every starter tonight.
• Heyward continues his strong start as he goes 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. He’s now slashing .291/.375/.473. Every Cubs fan will take that line for the rest of this year (and then some).

Bottom Line

This Cubs lineup was grinding at-bats all night tonight. Of course, you can’t get teams to throw over 200 pitches every game. The Cubs get another chance to grind on the Cardinals tomorrow over 14 innings.

On Deck

Two more games await the Cubs and Cardinals tomorrow as they play another twin-bill to finish off this five-game series, with the first game starting at 1:20 CT with Jack Flaherty taking on Alec Mills, who’s making his fourth start this year for the Cubs. Both games can be seen on Marquee and heard on 670 The Score.

Watch The Rant

We’re airing a special episode tomorrow of The Rant Live on Cubs Insider’s YouTube Channel that will be featured immediately after the first Cubs’ game. So join us around 3:30 tomorrow for what’s hopefully a conversation about possibly winning 4-of-5 against the Cardinals.