MLB London Series: Cubs chase Adam Wainwright early, dominate Cardinals Game 1 victory in England

Ian Happ lead the charge for Chicago's offensive outburst

For the second time -- and first since 2019 -- Major League Baseball is putting on a series in London. The first iteration of the London Series featured the Yankees and Red Sox and this time around, it pits historic rivals on the National League side with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals squaring off. 

The Cubs prevailed in Saturday's bout, 9-1, and dominated nearly from the get-go. Here are some of the top takeaways. 

Cubs offense crushes Wainwright

The Cubs took control of this one in the early innings behind an Ian Happ power show and a litany of singles. 

Happ homered to get the scoring started in the second: 

Then he homered again in the third: 

Happ joins Michael Chavis as the only players to have a two-homer game in the London Series. Happ has owned Wainwright in a big way of late. In fact, of the last seven homers Wainwright allowed to the Cubs, Happ hit six of them. 

Happ wasn't alone in shelling Wainwright, though. Both of those home runs were solo shots and the Cubs got the Cardinals' stalwart for seven runs on 11 hits in his three-plus innings of work. 

The bottom of the order did some serious damage, too. Christopher Morel went 3 for 4 with an RBI and run. Yan Gomes was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Nick Madrigal was 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and run. Dansby Swanson added a two-run shot in the ninth that put the thing to bed 9-1.

Steele deals for Cubs

On the opposite end of Wainwright was Cubs lefty Justin Steele, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. He got in trouble in the sixth, but then struck out the final three hitters he faced to escape a jam and strand two runners. 

The final line for Steele: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K

On the season, Steele is now 8-2 with a 2.62 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 79 innings. He recently missed a few weeks due to injury, but when he's been on the mound, he's pitched at an All-Star level. He put together another outstanding outing in this one. 

In fact, it was the best start in the very brief history of the London series. We just pointed out above that Wainwright was knocked around to the tune of seven runs in three innings. In the first London game in 2019, neither starter made it out of the first inning and it was 6-6 through one. Next game, the Red Sox scored four in the first and then the Yankees scored two in the second. 

Morel with a big birthday

Saturday is Morel's 24th birthday. He celebrated with the seventh three-hit game of his career. It was also the third three-hit game he's had in the last eight games. 

Morel debuted last season and showed great flashes. He started this year in Triple-A and was one of the best power hitters in the minors, then came up in time for the Cubs' game on May 9. In his 35 games since, he's hit .283/.333/.638 with 13 homers, 30 RBI and 29 runs. 

Cubs stay hot

Both teams came in relatively hot after varying levels of disappointment. 

The Cardinals were expected by many to win the NL Central, but started 10-24. Then they got briefly hot before sinking yet again. They won four of their last five before this trip, but the loss here Saturday drops them to 31-45 on the season. They didn't lose their 45th game last year until July 22. 

The Cubs were hopeful to contend for a playoff spot this season and started 12-7. Through June 8, however, they were 10 games under .500 at 26-36. Since then, the Cubs have gone 11-2 and would probably be getting a lot more attention if it weren't for the Reds and their 12-game winning streak. The Cubs are now 37-38 and a Reds' loss Saturday night would move the Cubs to within three games in the NL Central. 

Regardless, the Cubs are four out at worst heading to Sunday and this is the best they've looked in a long time. 

The turf is really bouncy

Before the game, some personnel from both sides noticed the playing surface was providing some big bounces of the baseball. 

The eye test during the game showed as much. Bloopers and soft liners to the outfield yielded huge first bounces that we don't see these days in the majors. It likely gave some veteran fans flashbacks to the days when the old-school Astroturf was prevalent in MLB ballparks. 

It didn't appear to impact the game much, but it's an observation moving to Sunday with one game left in this series. 

International Goldy; Tauchman returns 

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has now played a Major League Baseball game in five different countries. In addition to USA and Canada and now England, he previously played in series in Mexico and Australia. 

Also, Cubs leadoff man Mike Tauchman was on the Yankees in 2019, so he's the first player to take part in the London Series twice. 

Next

The two teams will square off again on Sunday, this time at 10:10 a.m. ET, which is the bright-and-early start time of just after 9 a.m. in both St. Louis and Chicago. 

Marcus Stroman (9-4, 2.28) gets the ball for the Cubs and, as the numbers suggest, he's been brilliant this season and is likely headed for his second All-Star Game. In his previous start against the Cardinals, he gave up just two runs in six innings, though he took the loss. 

The Cardinals were set to counter with Jack Flaherty, but he has a hip injury and won't make the start. Rookie lefty Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.12) gets the nod instead. He had a 9.00 ERA in two starts against the Cubs last season and hasn't seen them this year. It's worth mention that the Cubs have been one of the best offenses against left-handed pitching this season. 

CBS Sports was here, providing live updates throughout the first game of the London Series. Read back through below! 

[Jun 24, 2023 at 3:53 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Cubs win, 9-1

The Cubs have won 11 of 13 and are 37-38 on the season. If the Reds lose tonight, the Cubs will be just three games out in the NL Central. 

The Cardinals are now 31-45. They didn't lose their 45th game last season until July 22. They have only had one season with a losing record since 2000 (2007). It'll take quite a turnaround to avoid that fate this year. 

Game 2 of this series takes place in the same venue in London at 10:10 a.m. ET. The Cubs send Marcus Stroman to the hill while the Cardinals will need to name a new starter, as scheduled starter Jack Flaherty has a hip injury. 

[Jun 24, 2023 at 3:47 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

9-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth

Dansby Swanson added a two-run homer for the Cubs. I'm gonna guess the Cardinals don't have an eight-run rally in them right now. 

[Jun 24, 2023 at 3:21 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Merryweather it is

He allowed two baserunners, but got an inning-ending double play. Given that it's 7-1, the Cubs could hold back Leiter and/or Alzolay. Also, though, they were off Thursday and Friday and will be off Monday. If David Ross wants to make sure to avoid any trouble, he might as well use them. They could both throw one inning today and one tomorrow and still not be overworked in a short time period. 

[Jun 24, 2023 at 3:09 pm ET · Kate Feldman]

Matz settles

After Adam Wainwright struggled to get the Cubs' lineup out, Steven Matz steadied the ship, providing a solid outing out of the bullpen for the recently converted reliever. He departs after 3 1/3 innings, having given up just two hits and no runs.

[Jun 24, 2023 at 3:06 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Steele gets himself out of trouble

After the three straight hits to start the inning, Steele strikes out three straight to shut it down. He's struck out eight through six innings of work, having allowed one run on five hits with one walk. With 89 pitches and having recently come back from injury, I'll guess that was it for him. The Cubs have two excellent back-end relievers in Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay, who has served as closer recently, so they'll have the eighth and ninth. I'll guess Julian Merryweather takes the seventh. 

[Jun 24, 2023 at 2:59 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Big out

Cardinals scapegoat Willson Contreras strikes out against his former team. Now a grounder could end the threat.