The National League Central Division race is officially over.
For the second-straight season, the Chicago Cubs are champions of the NL Central after beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Wednesday night.
It was a struggle early on for the Cubs offense as pitcher Michael Wacha was dealing for the Cardinals. The pitcher was locked in until the 7th inning when the Cubs struck.
Trailing 1-0, Anthony Rizzo led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a single from Ben Zobrist. But the big blow came from the next hitter Addison Russell.
Russell hit a long home run to left field, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead and a positive sign in his offense:
.@Addison_Russell and the @Cubs want to celebrate tonight. pic.twitter.com/dmzXhlObWL
— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2017
The Cubs would add on two more runs in the inning to make it 5-1. Chicago’s bullpen got out of a big jam in the eighth inning when Carl Edwards Jr. got Dexter Fowler to pop out with the bases loaded and two outs.
Starter John Lackey was dealing, throwing six innings while giving up just two hits and one run. He’s been pitching his best baseball of the season as of late, a good sign for the Cubs.
Chicago then celebrated in the locker room, clinching the division title with a win this year.
The official merchandise for the Cubs NL Central title can be found below:
Chicago Cubs 2017 NL Central Champs Gear
Chicago will now prepare for a big NLDS series against the Washington Nationals which will begin in our nation’s capitol next week.
Check back for more on the Cubs upcoming playoff series including starting rotation, playoff roster, game date and times plus more.
2017 NLDS: Will Max Scherzer miss Game 1?
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