On a windy Sunday evening at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals’ offense flexed its muscles in a 7-3 win over the Cubs, clinching a series victory in the five-game, four-day set after sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday.\n\nWith their third straight win over the Cubs, the Cardinals moved within 1 1/2 games of the National League Central leaders.\n\n• Box score\n\n“We just play,” manager Mike Shildt said of the standings. “We’re always taking care of our business, and we put our head down and we play regardless of where we are. I think we’ve proven that, and it’s a good trait for the group. We look to execute our game every night.”\n\nHere are three takeaways from a dominant Cardinals performance.\n\n**Goldschmidt, Bader lead offense** \nThe veteran in the lineup,
\n\nBader, who entered Sunday 0-for-10 over the last eight games (three starts), knocked three hits and was on base four times with a hit-by-pitch, two doubles and a single. Bader is rotating in center field with Lane Thomas and Dylan Carlson as the Cardinals’ outfielders search for production. Bader’s night was a step forward.\n\n“Everything is very simple, in my mind, with regards to how this season’s been playing out,” Bader said. “The lack of fans, everything involved, it’s just much quieter, it’s more simple. When you just hone that and breathe a little bit and relax, you can unlock a lot of things. I’m just showing up every single day ready to win a baseball game, that’s all there is to it. Whether I’m starting or called in at the end of the game, it doesn’t matter to me.”\n\nTwo homers, six hits and five runs chased Lester (2-2) after 3 1/3 innings. Designated hitter Rangel Ravelo’s RBI double added the fourth run of the third inning, and Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong added RBI singles in the sixth to extend the Cardinals’ lead.\n\nEvery Cardinals starter reached base at least once.\n\n“Good at-bats all the way through the lineup,” Shildt said. “I love the fact that we go down and we punch right back with Goldy’s monster home run. And then add on, that was important as well. The process has been good, and the results are starting to get more consistent as we’d expect.”
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