Schwarber’s slam rallies Cubs past Cardinals, puts team back at .500

As the ball jumped off his bat and took flight toward the bleachers in left-center field, struggling slugger Kyle Schwarber paused for a moment to savor the view.

Who could blame him?

‘‘It’s kind of a sigh of relief,’’ Schwarber said.

Schwarber’s first career grand slam in the seventh inning Saturday keyed the Cubs’ 5-3 comeback victory against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Perhaps more important, it provided a feel-good moment in a season filled with frustrations for Schwarber.

It also helped the Cubs (27-27) climb back to .500.

‘‘To hang in there like he did, that’s what we’ve seen in the past — driving the ball to the other gap,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘If he can continue on that mental path, that would be outstanding to see.’’

On Friday, Maddon had called Schwarber to tell him he would bat ninth Saturday for the first time in his career. Maddon almost never calls players at home, but he wanted Schwarber to understand how the move could benefit him and the team.

By batting ninth, one spot behind the pitcher, Schwarber could serve as a pseudo-leadoff hitter ahead of Ian Happ, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, Maddon said. Pitchers would have to throw him strikes.

‘‘I wanted to really impress upon him, ‘It’s not a loss of confidence from me to you,’ ’’ Maddon said. ‘‘ ‘I understand you’re going through a moment right now, so what is the best way to deal with this?’

‘‘If you could set aside your baseball ego, hitting ninth, to me, it’s so attractive. . . . It’s not the last kid playing right field in a sandlot game; it’s not that at all. If you look at the lineup, the way it sits, when it gets to him coming back around, it becomes interesting.’’

And how did Schwarber take the news?

‘‘I’m like, ‘Hey, at least I’m playing,’ ’’ Schwarber said jokingly. ‘‘No, I’m kidding. I didn’t say anything.

‘‘He told me his reason, and I was like, ‘All right, I’m going with it.’ Whatever the skipper does, I’m going to follow it. We’ve got his back, he’s got our back.’’

It’s too early to tell whether Schwarber’s blast will go down as a blip or a breakthrough. He’s still hitting .166 with a .284 on-base percentage.

Still, fans rose to their feet and screamed as Schwarber dug into the batter’s box against Cardinals starter Mike Leake with the bases loaded and two outs. His teammates leaped in the dugout and danced in the bullpen after he ripped Leake’s first pitch an estimated 403 feet.

The support isn’t lost on Schwarber.

‘‘It’s easy to kick a guy to the curb, seeing the numbers like that,’’ Schwarber said. ‘‘It has been a big support system, [from] the fans to the players to our manager to our coaching staff, front office, everything. It’s really big.

‘‘You can definitely go home and feel even worse if they didn’t treat me the way that they did. But they’re all here to pick us up, and that’s kind of how our team is.’’

Schwarber will bat ninth again in the series finale Sunday, Maddon said.

No one is complaining.

‘‘I always try to stay as positive and mentally strong as I can be because I know how crazy this game is,’’ Schwarber said. ‘‘It can put you at your highest highs and your lowest lows, and you’ve just got to be able to stay the same person. . . .

‘‘I’m feeling good at the plate. Let’s keep it going.’’

Follow me on Twitter @tcmusick.

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