Cardinals win 7th straight for best start in franchise history

The first-place St. Louis Cardinals did something Monday no team in franchise history has done before.

Win 19 times in their first 25 games.

Mark Reynolds hit a first-inning grand slam, four players had multi-hit efforts, and the Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven with a wild 10-9 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. 

The win secured the Cardinals (19-6) their best start in franchise history.

Despite building a 5 1/2-game cushion in the NL Central by playing to the top record in baseball, it's been anything but easy for the Cardinals during their current streak.

Mike Matheny's group entered Monday's series opener fresh off three straight walk-off wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates before it rallied back from a five-run deficit to edge the Cubs. It was St. Louis' fourth consecutive one-run game.

"If any team had the right to maybe shut down after this weekend and how everything played out, this team could have, and that wasn't at all what it was," Matheny told reporters after the Cardinals used a four-run seventh to complete another comeback. "I think I said yesterday that 'wow' was my explanation. I don't even know what to give you today because, to me, that's just a sign of a tough team, a mentally tough team that is going to be relentless. I hope that's something that we never lose."

The Cardinals, who boast the second-best run differential (+45) in the majors, improved to 14-4 against their division.