Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals

The strength of the Cubs’ offense has been the ability to have multiple hitters delivering on any given night. Of course, there has been the incredible step forward from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, but Chicago’s lineup was built to be the sum of all parts, not a one-man show. “The expectations of Pete to continue this,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “let’s say, ‘Hey, you just be the MVP all the time,’ that’s a pretty lofty expectation.” The North Siders thrive with a versatile offensive attack, and that was what fueled a 10-2 win over the rival Cardinals on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. For the second game in a row, the Cubs jumped on St. Louis’ starter, running out to an early lead and continuing the recent tear by Chicago’s deep lineup. “You know that it doesn’t have to be one guy,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “We didn’t even hit a home run today. Being able to score that many runs without the long ball, just guys producing and coming up with those big at-bats, it really wears on pitchers, and I think it’s something we’re really good at.” • Cubs doing their part to encourage aggressive Trade Deadline Here were three keys to Tuesday’s win in St. Louis: **1\. Bregman piling up hits** Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman noted on Monday night that he picked up one of Dansby Swanson’s bats -- a slightly heavier model than his usual lumber -- before rattling off a four-hit performance in the series-opening win. Swanson might not get his bat back. In Tuesday’s victory, Bregman added another three hits, tying a career high with seven hits in a two-game span. The veteran had not achieved that feat since June 26-27, 2018, with the Astros. Prior to this week, Bregman only had four three-hit games this season, and three of those came in April. “He’s been a productive part of the offense,” Happ said, “even as he hasn’t hit the way he wants to hit and what the back of his baseball card shows. That’s why you play all 162. He’s that type of player. He’s been working really hard on it. It’s good to see him get some results, but we’re all really confident that at the end of the year, it’s going to look pretty similar to what it looks like every year.”