MLB report: Ian Happ hits two HRs, Justin Steele pitches Cubs to win in London

Pushing back the outfield fences in London couldn’t keep Ian Happ in the ballpark.

Happ refound his power stroke with a pair of solo home runs, pitcher Justin Steele used the crowd's energy to zap a rally attempt and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-1, on Saturday night in MLB's pandemic-delayed return to London.

Happ led off the second inning with a drive to straightaway center and put another Adam Wainwright (3-2) pitch over the rightfield fence in the third as the Cubs won their fourth straight game.

“They were both really well struck,” Happ said. “He’s the kind of guy that you just love to compete against.”

A crowd of 54,662, MLB's largest this season, filled London Stadium, some singing “Go Cubs Go." “It’s definitely something different in the energy and the electricity in this building,” said Steele (8-2), who allowed five hits in six innings.

The lefthander kept the Cardinals hitless before a leadoff single in the fifth by Jordan Walker, who has the longest active hitting streak at 14 games.

Matt Olson hit the 200th of his big league career and Travis d'Arnaud, Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna also went deep for Atlanta.

Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco returned after being benched for two games for how he was handled frustrating situations this season and hit a 417-foot solo homer during a two-run first.