CHICAGO _The St. Louis Cardinals took an early lead against one of the best and hottest teams in baseball, the first-place Chicago Cubs, but by the 11th inning it was clear the Cardinals had to overcome more than their archrivals.
They had to outlast themselves.
A series of misplays and mishaps allowed the Cubs to rally early, and a bases-loaded walk in the 11th inning sent the Cubs home Thursday with a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field. Zach Duke, the Cardinals' new lefty, fed a 3-1 pitch that caught the inner edge of the strike zone, but it was called a ball on first baseman Anthony Rizzo. That forced home the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning. All but one of the Cubs' runs scored with the help of the Cardinals.
Although the scoreboard showed the Cardinals didn't commit any errors in the field, the game was littered with defensive trips and baserunning issues that cost the Cardinals as much as the Cubs took the game from them.
The game took an ugly turn in the 10th that will have repercussions for the Cardinals and the series. Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery came in high and tight to Matt Holliday and caught the Cardinals' left fielder on the right hand. The pitch, similar to the one that put Aledmys Diaz on the disabled list with a fractured thumb, drove Holliday from the game.
After X-rays, it was determined Holliday had a fractured thumb.
Fresh from the minors on Thursday afternoon as a replacement for Matt Adams on the roster and, for the moment, off the bench, Randal Grichuk knotted the game in what's become Cardinals fashion this season. Grichuk pinch-hit for starter Carlos Martinez in the top of the seventh with two outs and a one-run deficit. He drilled a pitch over the basket in left-center field for his 13th homer of the season _ despite two spin cycles to clean his swing at Class AAA Memphis.
His pinch-hit bolt tied the game, 3-3, and it extended the Cardinals' club record to 13 pinch-hit home runs this season. The homer came off reliever Travis Wood, and the Cardinals wouldn't get such a chance again before the end of regulation.
Reliever Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth inning, appearing for the first time against the Cardinals as a Cub. Since taking over as manager for the 2012 season, Mike Matheny has never seen the Cardinals score a run against the lefty who used to dominate from Cincinnati's mound. The jersey was new Thursday. The results were the same. Chapman retired the Cardinals in order in the ninth on three pitches.
Three pitches. Three outs.
It took a few more throws, but the Cardinals' own closer answered with a scoreless ninth. Seung Hwan Oh struck out leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler to end the inning and send it to extra innings.
Through his first five innings, Martinez held the Cubs to nothing by doing a little bit of everything.
The game went haywire on him when he started doing too much.
Before the sixth inning, Martinez had pitched around back-to-back, no-out walks by getting a key double-play grounder from former teammate Jason Heyward to reset the second inning. In the fifth inning, the Cubs again threatened with a sky-high ball to the wall that center fielder Stephen Piscotty failed to catch and David Ross turned it into a double. Cubs starter Jon Lester attempted to get the Cubs' first run by dropping a bunt, and his placement was good enough _ until Martinez pounced on it. He ran down Chris Coghlan himself a few strides ahead of the plate. That kept the Cubs scoreless through five.
The sixth unraveled quickly, and it was two defensive plays by Martinez that sped the Cubs toward their three runs and flipped the game on him.
Kris Bryant and Rizzo opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Martinez regained traction by striking out Ben Zobrist. First baseman Matt Carpenter caught a popup near the dugout rail to get Martinez one out away from escaping another threat. It didn't happen. Heyward hit a grounder toward third that Jhonny Peralta had to hold without a throw. That loaded the bases. The next batter, Coghlan, fell behind 0-2 before working the count back in his favor and then forcing it full. Coghlan dropped his bat and appeared to be asking for time as Martinez delivered the 3-2 pitch. The ump didn't pause, leaving Coghlan to slap at the pitch _ and line a single to right field.
Brandon Moss scooped the ball and made a strong throw home, and it appeared both on line and on time to get the runner, Rizzo, at the plate. Carpenter let the ball go by.
Martinez, out of position, did not.
Instead of backing up the play, Martinez stood between catcher Yadier Molina and Carpenter. Martinez cut the ball off and kept it from getting to Molina, who likely could have tagged Rizzo out to keep him from scoring. Molina fumed at the play interrupted. The next attempt made by Martinez was just as maddening. With the go-ahead run at third, Ross dropped a bunt, and Martinez fielded it easily. He had a chance to set his feet and throw out the not-so-fleet catcher. Instead Martinez rushed an off-balance throw to first and it took Carpenter wide of the base. Although the official scorer awarded Ross a base hit, the fault was with Martinez for not making the play.
Look no further than his reaction.
The young righthander took out his frustration on an unsuspecting water jug in the visitors' dugout at Wrigley. He did some of the attacking with his pitching had.
That series of misplays squandered the 2-0 lead he and the Cardinals had crafted through the first 5{{ innings of the game. Martinez had twice struck out Bryant to keep the Cubs' feared hitter from igniting a rally. He had the key double play from Heyward to quiet the Cubs in the second inning, and he even skirted around a one-out triple by Rizzo in the fourth inning.
The Cardinals staked him to an early lead when they spritzed Lester with three consecutive two-out singles. Holliday started it with a single, and he came around to score when Molina threaded a base hit between Rizzo's glove and first base. Molina extended his on-base streak to 24 games with the single. He would add a double in the fourth inning.
After Martinez freed himself from the trouble in the fifth inning with his sharp defensive play, Moss lofted his 19th home run into the bleachers to put the Cardinals ahead 2-0.
Moss tied Holliday for the team lead with the solo shot.
