Suzuki and Assad power playoff-bound Cubs to a 2-0 win over the Cardinals

CHICAGO (AP) — Seiya Suzuki homered in his fourth straight game, Javier Assad pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 Sunday for a three-game series sweep to close out the regular season.

Suzuki hit five homers and drove in 10 runs in his last four games. He raised his season totals to 32 homers and a team-leading 103 RBIs.

Moises Ballesteros added an RBI single for the Cubs (92-70), who finished as the top NL wild card. Chicago will host San Diego in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 of the best-of-three series is Tuesday.

The Cardinals, at 78-84, finished in fourth place in the NL Central and out of the playoffs for the third straight season.

Assad (4-1) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out six while walking one. Michael Soroka got two outs, then Jordan Wicks scattered three hits over the final three innings for his first save.

Kyle Leahy opened for the Cardinals with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit. John King (2-1), the second of four St. Louis relievers allowed one run while getting four outs.

Suzuki lined a solo homer off King to the left-center bleachers leading off the bottom of the fifth. The Cubs added an unearned run in the seventh when Ballesteros singled and scored Kevin Alcantara from second.

Key moment

With a Thomas Saggese on second in the ninth, Wicks struck out Jordan Walker and Jimmy Crooks to end the game.

Key stat

Suzuki joined Shohei Ohtani (three times) and Hideki Matsui with the fifth 30-homer, 100-RBI season by a Japanese-born player in the majors.

Up next

The Cubs host the San Diego Padres in the best-of-three NL Wild Card series beginning Tuesday.

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