Cubs 7, Cardinals 2: A 2-hitter (with walks)

Let's put it this way. If Tyler Chatwood had thrown into the sixth inning and allowed six hits and one walk and one run, you'd think of that as a good outing, right?

So maybe this six-walk, one-hit outing from Chatwood is progress!

The only hit Chatwood allowed was a solo homer by Matt Carpenter, and four Cubs relievers allowed only one other hit, and the Cubs put together a four-run rally in the seventh to break open a tight game and defeat the Cardinals 7-2.

This recap will be brief, as there's another game coming shortly, but some of the highlights include a leadoff triple from Anthony Rizzo, a four-hit game by Ben Zobrist, a two-run single from Tommy La Stella that completed the scoring, and some solid relief from new Cub Jesse Chavez, who induced several ground balls in a nice two-inning outing that helped Joe Maddon save Pedro Strop for potentially closing Game 2.

The rain, at last, stopped around game time and we saw a few peeks of sun. Despite dire forecasts of all day rains Friday and Saturday, the games were played with minimal issues.

I'll have more thoughts about this game in the recap to Game 2 tomorrow morning. In the meantime this was a satisfying win and for the moment, it puts the Cubs three and a half games ahead of the Brewers, who are playing the Dodgers right now in a late afternoon contest at Miller Park.

In the night game, Mike Montgomery will go for the Cubs and John Gant starts for the Cardinals. Game time is 6:15 p.m. CT. A game preview with lineups and pitcher information will post at 5 p.m. CT. TV coverage for Game 2 is via Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.tv or MLB Extra Innings and the Cubs game is not on the Fox station in your market, you can watch via those services.