Adam Wainwright’s gem in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader at Wrigley Field did more than just win the game for the Cardinals. It allowed them to piece together their best relievers for the nightcap and helped push them to a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs.

Five Cardinals relievers combined to hold the Cubs to three hits in the 5-1 win, following a 4-2 win in the opener. In just one day, the Cardinals swung the momentum of the five-game series to their side, put together a winning streak against the Cubs and swept a doubleheader against Chicago for the first time since Aug. 31, 2002.

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On top of all that, the Cardinals won Game 2 as the home team at Wrigley Field in their road blue uniforms -- a twist this year because the teams are making up the postponed series that was scheduled in early August at Busch Stadium.

“Clearly unusual,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Definitely unprecedented. And fun.”

Members of the Cardinals’ bullpen found out they would be covering Saturday night’s game when they got to the ballpark that afternoon. Lefty Kwang Hyun Kim had been placed on the injured list, and the Cardinals had to reshuffle their pitching plans for the rest of the series.

Austin Gomber found out he would be starting the second game right after the first ended, which gave him less than 45 minutes to prepare, although the lefty had a hunch he would be pitching in the nightcap.

He walked the first batter he faced, Ian Happ, but then settled down to allow one hit in 2 2/3 innings. Including Gomber, the Cardinals' pitchers combined to strike out eight in the seven-inning game.

With all that the Cardinals have been through this season, the pitching staff has been remarkably stable. Entering Saturday’s doubleheader, the pitching staff had a collective 3.59 ERA and had held opponents to a .199 average. That’s second in the National League to the Dodgers, who had a 2.75 ERA entering Saturday.

“You get the ball and you try to go as long as you can,” Gomber said. “It’s less of a traditional role. The new rules, the three-batter minimum, just how our schedule sets up, I feel like it’s just whoever’s out there, get as many as you can and pass it on to the next guy.”

After being held to one hit on Friday night against Cubs starter Yu Darvish and two hits overall, the Cardinals combined to score nine runs on Saturday. A big second inning got the Cardinals started in Game 2. Paul DeJong opened the frame with a homer, and Tyler O'Neill added a two-run shot to extend the lead.

From there, the Cardinals played small ball. Three singles in the third tacked on a run, and the Cards took a 5-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Harrison Bader in the fourth.

“They just always find a way to win baseball games,” Happ said. “They do a good job matching up. The pitching staff does a good job. The bullpen does a good job. So, yeah, we never take them for granted.”

The Cardinals (16-15) ended the day 2 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central behind the Cubs, and they passed the halfway point in this shortened, 60-game season. The doubleheaders aren’t going to stop -- there are two on tap this week, on Tuesday and Thursday, with an off-day sandwiched in between. But the Cardinals are taking everything in stride and doing what they can to win as many games as possible.

“It’s been a crazy year, hasn’t it?” O’Neill said. “We’re all in it together, though. Collective effort. Just going to keep doing our best jobs.”