The Chicago Cubs got the series win they needed this weekend at Wrigley Field. It was a disappointing start to the series when the Cubs dropped the Friday game 4-3. Chicago had two good chances to stage a comeback late in that game but fell short on both occasions. The first was in the 8th inning when Seiya Suzuki got a two-out single and Jeimer Candelario followed him with a walk. David Ross sent Nick Madrigal up to pinch-hit for Patrick Wisdom opting for contact over power. Madrigal grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.

In the bottom of the ninth, Nico Hoerner was thrown out trying to stretch a one-out single into a double. Ian Happ would walk with two outs but Cody Bellinger struck out swinging to end the game.

On Saturday the Cubs bounced back with a 6-4 win behind a strong outing from ace Justin Steele. He went six innings allowing two runs on six hits and striking out seven. Steele is now second in all of Major League Baseball with 2.80 ERA on the season. The offense was led by Bellinger who homered twice and drove in four of the Cubs six runs. Bellinger is having a great season on his one-year deal in Chicago. He will be a high-priority free agent for the team this offseason.

In the series-clinching win on Sunday, Kyle Hendricks threw another quality start allowing just one run over 6 1/3 innings. The Cubs got homers from Miguel Amaya and Suzuki in the win. Adbert Alzolay had an interesting ninth inning but was ultimately able to escape with his 18th save of the season. Alzolay has been really good since he took over as the team’s closer earlier this summer.

Unfortunately, the Cubs were not able to pick up a game on NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers who swept the Texas Rangers on the road. Chicago is still three games back. Here are th full NL Central standings:

Milwaukee Brewers 68-57

Chicago Cubs 64-59

Cincinnati Reds 64-61

Pittsburgh Pirates 55-69

St. Louis Cardinals 55-70

The Cubs, who travel to Detroit to start a four-game series with the Tigers on Monday, are currently one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the last NL Wild Card spot.