First baseman Michael Busch had himself a heck of an afternoon.
With two home runs, a triple, a double, four RBI and a couple of runs scored, he was the main man in the Cubs’ latest offensive triumph. This one was particularly important, however, with the 7-3 victory Saturday against the Cardinals securing home-field advantage for the best-of-three National League wild-card series against the Padres that begins Tuesday.
‘‘He drove the bus,’’ manager Craig Counsell said of Busch.
Next stop? Playoff baseball at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs won’t actually have to get on a bus, given they’ll be home for all the games in the wild-card round. But having someone such as Busch might prove to be sorely needed in the wake of the fractured rib that landed rookie right-hander Cade Horton on the injured list and sent the Cubs into the postseason without the services of their best starting pitcher.
The roster has taken turns shouldering the load this season, with the bats routinely exploding before the All-Star break and the arms doing great work after it. The script might be flipping again, with Horton sidelined, left-handers Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd struggling and the lineup coming to life in the final days of the regular season.
Saturday saw Busch joined by right fielder Seiya Suzuki, who homered for the fourth time in the last three days, and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who smashed a homer off the video board in the latest display that his late-summer slump might be a thing of the past.
No better time.
‘‘We’ve got a bunch of guys who can go in there and give you a very high-quality at-bat; that just speaks to our offense,’’ Busch said. ‘‘There’s a reason why we’re hosting a playoff game at home. Top to bottom, it’s been nice to see them going, but we’ve got hitters all around — off the bench, in the lineup. You name it, we’re going to give you a quality at-bat.’’
And for these Cubs, there’s no better place, either.
‘‘We’ve played really well at home this year,’’ right-hander Jameson Taillon said. ‘‘The fans are a big part of that. The day games are a big part of that. Learning the conditions and embracing the wind and the sun and all of that, Wrigley’s definitely one of the best home-field advantages in sports.
‘‘We’ve seen it all. We’ve been challenged to win a lot of different ways. That really helps us.’’
No shot at a cycle
Busch finished a single away from the cycle, but he was denied a shot at jumping into the record books when the Cardinals intentionally walked him when he came to the plate for the fifth time.
That decision, made with the Cardinals down by four in the eighth inning, generated deafening boos from the fans, who wanted to see Busch achieve the feat.
Counsell called it ‘‘a baseball decision,’’ but fans clearly would have appreciated a different kind of baseball.
‘‘Selfishly, I wanted the at-bat,’’ Busch said. ‘‘I get it. They’re trying to win; we’re trying to win. The game wasn’t over.’’
‘‘I hate it for [Busch],’’ shortstop Dansby Swanson said. ‘‘But I guess I’d be a little bit sick of watching him hit a lot of homers and all that stuff, too.’’