CHICAGO (AP) — Taylor Davis got the comeback started with a grand slam in the fourth inning. Javier Baez finished it with a go-ahead homer in the eighth.
Just like that, the surging Cubs are in position to grab the NL Central lead.
Baez led off the eighth inning with a tiebreaking drive, and Chicago wiped out a four-run deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Saturday.

Baez drove a 2-2 pitch from John Brebbia (1-1) the opposite way to right for his 11th homer , sending the Cubs to their season-high sixth straight win. Fans chanted “Javy! Javy!” as he came out for a curtain call.

Davis hit a tying grand slam in the fourth against Michael Wacha for his first career homer, after Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked to load the bases. Brandon Kintzler (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth. Pedro Strop retired all three batters in the ninth for his fourth save in five chances as the Cubs cut St. Louis’ lead in the NL Central to a half-game despite a shaky start by Yu Darvish. They’re also eyeing a potential weekend sweep of their rivals.

The Cubs sure have turned things around after a 2-7 start. Baez coming through in a big moment is nothing new. But for Davis, this was different. Recalled from Triple-A Iowa three weeks ago, he became the first Cubs player to hit a grand slam for his first career homer since pitcher Kevin Tapani at Atlanta on July 20, 1998. He came into the game with five hits in 23 at-bats since debuting with Chicago in 2017.

UP NEXT – Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (3-2, 3.73 ERA) looks to win his third straight start. He held Washington to two runs in a season-high 6 1/3 innings on Tuesday.