Joc Pederson homered and drove in three runs, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras went deep and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 on Friday.
Wrigley Field allowed 100% capacity for the first time since 2019 on what the Cubs called “Opening Day 2.0:. They fell behind 5-1, then treated a crowd of 35,112 to a comeback win over their NL Central rivals.
Pederson gave the Cubs a 7-5 lead in the seventh with a two-run double off the wall in right-center against Génesis Cabrera (1-2). He also singled leading off the first and homered in his second straight game when he drove one to the center-field basket against against Johan Oviedo in the fourth.
Rizzo tied it at 5-all in the sixth with his drive to right against Daniel Ponce de Leon. It came on the 14th pitch of the at-bat, the longest by a Cub to end in a homer since at least 1988, and the fans erupted in delight.
Contreras added a solo homer in the eighth.
The Cardinals lost for the seventh time in eight games. Yadier Molina had three hits, but the nine-time Gold Glove catcher also allowed runs to score on a passed ball and throwing error in the fifth.
RHP John Gant (4-3, 2.63) pitches for St. Louis Saturday night, 5:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:15 on KIRX.