CHICAGO -- The cork finally popped for the Cubs’ offense on Monday afternoon. After more than two days of an offensive drought, and the pressure building for the lineup its groove again, Chicago poured out a five-run seventh inning against the Mariners on Labor Day afternoon.\n\nThird-base coach Brian Butterfield spun his right arm repeatedly, waving a stream of runners home after his two-day respite. The fans inside Wrigley Field erupted, replacing recent groans with raucous cheers, and the Cubs picked up a 5-1 win that was much-needed in the wake of the previous 48 hours.\n\n• Box score\n\n\"We needed the breakthrough,\" Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. \"Hopefully that'll relax everybody.\"\n\nWhen
\n\nThe win, which began with another strong six-inning performance by
\n\nSchwarber chopped a pitch up the first-base line, where it struck the bag and bounced high into right field. The awkward hop of Schwarber’s hit resulted in a lucky three-run triple. The five-run inning came after the Cubs managed five runs total in their previous 31 innings.\n\nAs the baseball was headed up the line, Maddon said bench coach Mark Loretta was shouting from the dugout.\n\n\"Lo yells out, 'Hit the bag!'\" Maddon said. \"And of course, it did. We needed something like that to get us rolling in the right direction. Hopefully that does, but again, I'm not going to proclaim anything. We just won the game today.\"\n\nAnd one game does not erase the inconsistencies of an entire season.\n\nOne of the biggest issues all year has been with making contact, and that continued against Seattle. Lefty