Zach McKinstry homered and drove in three runs, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 on Wednesday night.
Nico Hoerner had three hits for Chicago, and Yan Gomes added two RBI. Rowan Wick (4-6) got five outs for the win, leading a solid performance by the Cubs bullpen.
Chicago was helped by a solid start from Luke Farrell, who pitched 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball in his first appearance for the Cubs since 2018. Farrell, the son of former Toronto and Boston manager John Farrell, was promoted from Triple-A Iowa before the game.
McKinstry chased Miles Mikolas (10-10) with a two-run shot in the seventh. Mikolas was charged with three earned runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado was ejected by umpire John Libka in the third for arguing a third-strike call.
The Cardinals’ Dakota Hudson (6-6, 4.33 ERA) faces fellow right-hander Marcus Stroman (3-5, 3.83 ERA) in the series finale, 12:25 with the pregame and the first pitch at 1:20 on KIRX.
The Dodgers beat the Brewers 12-6 to keep the Cardinal’s lead at 5 1/2.