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Happ's 2 HRs, Jay's RBI single lead Cubs over Cardinals 7-6

 Ian Happ's first home run wound up in the street, and his second drew a curtain call from the screaming crowd.

 

Not a bad night for the prized rookie, and it turned out well for the Cubs, too.

 

Happ hit two homers, pinch hitter Jon Jay drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh with a single and Chicago beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

 

Happ broke out of a 4-for-32 slump by staking Chicago to a 6-4 lead with his solo drive in the third and a three-run shot in the fourth against Michael Wacha. The first homer hugged the right-field line , bouncing onto Sheffield Avenue, and the second whipped fans into a frenzy. Happ came back out of the dugout and tipped his helmet to the screaming crowd.

 

Jay broke a 6-6 tie with his two-out single off Matt Bowman (1-2) in the seventh. Anthony Rizzo had three hits and scored the go-ahead run, and the Cubs (28-27) moved back over .500 with their 10th home win in 12 games. They also swept three from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2006, and they did it after an 0-6 trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego.

 

Cubs players held a meeting before the final game against the Padres that was more of a reminder of who they are than a clear-the-air session.

 

Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Kyle Hendricks. The Cardinals tied it with two in the sixth against Hector Rondon, only to lose for the eighth time in 11 games.

 

Singles by Rizzo and Jason Heyward put runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh. Jay - batting for Pedro Strop - lined a single to center and Rizzo crossed the plate before Heyward got tagged out in a rundown between second and third.

 

Strop (2-2) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Carl Edwards Jr. retired the side in the eighth. Koji Uehara worked a perfect ninth for his second save in four chances after Wade Davis closed the previous two games.

 

Hendricks gave up four runs and four hits in four innings.

 

Pounded in back-to-back losses to the Dodgers, Wacha lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs and six hits. The Cardinals had just scored four in the fourth when Chicago answered with five in the bottom half after the first two batters were retired.

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