CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Bethancourt and Michael Busch homered in a five-run second inning and the Cubs spoiled the Cardinals’ debut of new acquisition Erick Fedde as Chicago stretched its winning streak to three games with a 6-3 victory over St. Louis on Friday.
Tyson Miller (3-1), the first of four relievers, earned the victory and Héctor Neris picked up his 15th save as Chicago won its third straight game against its NL Central rivals.
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Chicago Cubs' Christian Bethancourt runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Christian Bethancourt hits a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Cody Bellinger, left, slides safely into second base as St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, right, jumps during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, left, slaps hands with Dansby Swanson (7) after scoring on a throwing error by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, left, runs by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy (62) to score on a throwing error by Leahy during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs catcher Christian Bethancourt, left, and pitcher Héctor Neris, right, celebrate after their win over the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
The Cubs’ big inning came against Fedde (7-5), who was acquired earlier in the week from the White Sox in a three-team trade.
“I had terrible command,” Fedde said of the second inning. “It brought me to long at-bats where I couldn’t put people away.”
The 31-year-old right-hander gave up the first five runs and six hits and finished with four strikeouts in five innings.
“We had a really good second inning and put pressure on them right away,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell, whose team needed a three–run ninth to top the Cardinals a night earlier.
Rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong added an RBI single in the second before Bethancourt hit a three-run homer to right-center field.
“I was just trying to hit the ball in the gap,” Bethancourt said. “Thank God I got that one very well and hit it out of the park.”
Busch followed a batter later with a solo shot.
Seiya Suzuki scored from second in the eighth inning after Kyle Leahy’s errant pickoff throw dribbled into center field.
The Cardinals got all three runs by drawing bases-loaded walks. Paul Goldschmidt earned the first off Assad in the third, and Tommy Pham and Brendan Donovan got two-out passes in the eighth from Julian Merryweather and Neris, respectively. Neris struck out pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford to end the threat.
Masyn Winn added two hits for St. Louis, which has dropped five of its last eight games.
Cubs starter Javier Assad allowed four hits, walked three and struck out three in the opening four innings.
UP NEXT
St. Louis’ Kyle Gibson (7-4, 3.97 ERA) faces fellow right-hander Jameson Taillon (7-6, 3.35) on Saturday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Chicago Cubs' Christian Bethancourt runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Christian Bethancourt hits a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Cody Bellinger, left, slides safely into second base as St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, right, jumps during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, left, slaps hands with Dansby Swanson (7) after scoring on a throwing error by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, left, runs by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy (62) to score on a throwing error by Leahy during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs catcher Christian Bethancourt, left, and pitcher Héctor Neris, right, celebrate after their win over the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Some of the NFL's biggest moments of late have come not on the field but the sideline.
Spats. Shoves. Snubs. Snapbacks.
It started with Aaron Rodgers refusing a bro hug from Robert Saleh after a touchdown in September before things went sour at the the New York Jets training center.
Two instigators who raised eyebrows in Week 6 quickly backtracked with Maxx Crosby denying his two-handed shove to the chest of an assistant Raiders coach was out of malice and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni apologizing for taunting his own fanbase at the Linc following a narrow win over the Browns.
Jerry Jones had a very unhappy 82nd birthday watching his Cowboys' fourth straight home loss, a 47-9 thrashing from the Detroit Lions. But Jones said after the worst home loss since he bought the team in 1989 that he's not considering dumping coach Mike McCarthy like Woody Johnson canned Saleh five days earlier.
Dallas' home skid includes lopsided losses to the Packers in the playoffs and the Saints this season along with a 28-25 loss to the Ravens after falling behind 28-6.
So, Saleh's stunningly early pink slip heading into Week 6 with the Jets just one game out of first place in the AFC East didn't lead to any copycats like so many other things in NFL do — at least not right away.
Rodgers and Saleh made light of their awkward moment in the aftermath of their rout of the Patriots, but the laugh track ended following two subsequent ugly offensive performances in back-to-back losses and Saleh was shown the exit as he was preparing the Jets for their showdown against the Bills on Monday night.
Rodgers insisted he played no role in Saleh's firing, which came as Saleh was reportedly considering stripping Nathaniel Hackett of his offensive play-calling duties, something Jeff Ulbrich did in his first major move as interim head coach on Thursday.
Ulbrich replaced Hackett with Todd Downing, the Jets’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Hackett — who is close to Rodgers from their time together in Green Bay — chose to remain with the team and retained his offensive coordinator title.
Rodgers, who nearly had his first 300-yard passing game since 2021 in New York's 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Monday night that dropped them to 2-4, said during the week that he takes a lot of the blame for the team's struggles and feels some responsibility for the changes because he hasn’t played up to his standard.
Rodgers, by the way, levied some serious criticism at the officials Monday night for throwing 22 combined flags for 204 penalty yards: “It seemed a little ridiculous. Some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer.”
Sirianni apologized Monday for gesturing and jawing at fans in the final moments of a win during which restless fans booed a listless performance and “Fire Nick!” chants permeated pockets at Lincoln Financial Field. After the team's fourth win in its last dozen tries, Sirianni defended his antics, saying he was simply “excited” to get a victory. He added the Eagles “don’t necessarily like it” when fans boo at home games.
Sirianni struck a conciliatory tone for his behavior a day later after his boorish behavior was ripped by fans and media.
“I was trying to bring energy yesterday. Energy, enthusiasm,” Sirianni said Monday. “I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game. My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys.”
The Raiders have been the among the league leaders in drama this season with Devante Adams' trade request, a quarterback shuffling and now their superstar Crosby shoving Mike Caldwell, the Raiders' run game coordinator and linebackers coach, during the Raiders' 32-13 loss to the Steelers.
Crosby called it a “love push” in a post on X, and also addressed the situation at his locker with reporters after the game, saying, "Mike Caldwell is a great dude. We have a great relationship, and we do that all the time. ... That's how we play football. We're grown men. We're alpha males. We don't greet each other the same.
“So ... like he was just hyping me up and I hyped him up like, 'Let's go!' We're down, but it just showed that we're not quitting. And so that was literally all it was,” Crosby added. "... The camera, they made it look bad. It looked like I was throwing him out the club but that was not what happened at all.”
A week earlier, the Raiders lost in Denver, where Bo Nix clapped back at coach Sean Payton, who laid into his rookie quarterback as he retreated to the sideline following an off-script incompletion in the end zone.
Payton called his passionate reaction “my love language," and added that Nix still has “some Ferris Bueller in him," a babyboomer jab that made a lot more sense Sunday when the Broncos offense took much of the day off in their loss to the Chargers, falling behind 23-0 in the fourth quarter. At halftime. Nix had just three completions for 22 yards, plus an interception that safety Elijah Molden returned 25 yards.
With contributions from AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr., and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks on the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, left, and quarterback Dak Prescott (4) watch play against the Detroit Lions in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) points during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference with son Miles after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
