Cubs Edge Giants, Cardinals Blank Reds

If there was any doubt about the importance of the Chicago Cubs' series against their main wild-card competition, the defending champion San Francisco Giants, then it went out the window during a slow walk to the mound by Joe Maddon in the top of the fifth inning Thursday night.

The Cubs were leading 5-2 in Game 1 of their four-game series but starter Jason Hammel had just walked the first two batters of the fifth not long after giving up a two-out double and home run an inning earlier. Something was suddenly off, and Maddon felt the time was right for a move.

"You could sense they were feeling pretty good about where they were at and I thought we had to do something different," Maddon said after the Cubs' 5-4 victory.

Maddon pulled an incredulous Hammel from the game in favor of middle man Justin Grimm. It's a move a manager would make in the postseason. Remember, Hammel was leading 5-2 with one inning to go to qualify for the victory with just 76 pitches thrown on the night. The pitcher was asked if he understood the move.

"Yes and no," Hammel responded. "I felt like I earned the right to get out of that situation. He leveled with me. We're on the same page."

Grimm got the next three batters out, stranding the walks, so Maddon's move paid off. Five relievers in total pitched the Cubs through the next five innings despite a Brandon Crawford home run in the sixth to draw the Giants within one. That's as close as they came.

Cardinals 3, Reds 0

The mound was slippery, the rain was steady, the bullpen was exhausted. Michael Wacha overcame all of it for another win. Wacha gave St. Louis' tired bullpen a respite by throwing seven innings in the rain Thursday, and the Cardinals pulled away to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, taking yet another series from their NL Central rival.

The Cardinals improved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. They have the best record in the major leagues at 69-39.

"It's August already," Wacha said. "This is the time we start pushing and play the way we have been all year."

They took two of three in Cincinnati and have won 15 of their last 18 series together. The Reds were shut out for the last 18 innings.

Thursday, August 6 Scoreboard

St. Louis 3, Cincinnati 0

Los Angeles Dodgers 10, Philadelphia 8

Detroit 8, Kansas City 6

Milwaukee 10, San Diego 1

Washington 8, Arizona 3

New York Yankees 2, Boston 1

Toronto 9, Minnesota 3

Atlanta 9, Miami 8

Chicago Cubs 5, San Francisco 4

Houston 5, Oakland 4 (F/10)

Friday, August 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Francisco at Chicago, 3:05 p.m.

Los Angeles at Pittsburgh, 6:00 p.m.

Toronto at New York, 6:05 p.m.

Colorado at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Boston at Detroit, 6:08 p.m.

Minnesota at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

New York at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Chicago at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Baltimore at Los Angeles, 9:05 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.