Castro's huge day lifts Cubs to 4th straight win

Starlin Castro has endured a rocky season with the Chicago Cubs, but the 25-year-old was the undisputed hero at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon when his club opened a three-game series against the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

One day after being omitted from the lineup, Castro launched a pair of home runs to lift the Cubs to an 8-3 victory in Chicago, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk in his third career multi-homer game while tying a career-high by driving in six runs.

Castro, who managed a .958 OPS in his previous 10 games heading into Friday's series opener, afforded his club a 5-3 lead with his first homer of the afternoon - a two-run shot off Seth Maness that sailed into the bleachers in left-center field.

One inning later, though, Castro made his afternoon particularly memorable by cranking a three-run blast off Steve Cishek to put the Cubs up, 8-3, and drive in his sixth run of the game - something he hasn't done since his MLB debut back on May 7, 2010.

(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)

Castro's efforts helped Chicago secure a fourth straight victory - on Thursday, the Cubs notched their third consecutive win over the Pirates - to move within 1 1/2 games of Pittsburgh, whthe first National League wild-card entrant.