In trouble all day, Cardinals pull out 4-3 win over Cubs

ST. LOUIS The Cardinals were able to outlast Cubs pitcher Jon Lester, lighting up a series of Cubs relief pitchers in the eighth inning to overcome a two-run deficit and avoid a three-game sweep with a 4-3 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

It was more late-inning heroics for the Cardinals, and it came with a rally that started at the bottom of the batting order. The Cardinals have 11 wins when trailing after seven innings this season, the most in the majors.

“Huge,” manager Mike Matheny said. “I don’t know why it would surprise us this is kind of what these guys have been able to do. ... A lot of good things had to happen on the way. Carlos (Martinez) somehow sticking in there and getting us five and then we turn it over to a bullpen that I thought was very good.

“We had some positives. We didn’t know how all that was going to play out, but we got those big hits when we really needed them.”

Lester allowed just two hits to the Cardinals in seven innings, but came out after his pitch count hit 105. With one out in the eighth against reliever Pedro Strop, Mark Reynolds walked and went to second on a pinch single by Greg Garcia.

Against reliever Clayton Richard, Matt Carpenter drove in pinch runner Pete Kozma, and against reliever Fernando Rodney, Stephen Piscotty doubled off the center field wall, scoring pinch runner Peter Bourjos and Carpenter to make it 4-3. Piscotty let out a yell when he got to second base, clapping his hands enthusiastically as the two runs scores.

“I couldn’t resist that time,” he said. “It was about as loud and exciting ... it just came out of me.

“It’s definitely good to get that one. You don’t want to get swept by the Cubs. Hopefully we take the momentum into this road trip. We’re fine. There’s no panic. We did a good job fighting back, guys got on in that inning, there’s no quit in this team.”

Trevor Rosenthal pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 43rd save. Jonathan Broxton, who struck out the side in the top of the eighth, earned the victory.

The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak and will keep at least a 4 1/2-game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central while the Cubs fell 7 1/2 back.

“I’ll take it,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “I’m really happy we’re disappointed right now. That’s pretty cool. Most of the times, you’d be effusive, ‘We won two out of three, that’s outstanding, that’s the best thing ever.’ But no. We had a chance to go three out of three. We failed, ultimately you’ll take two out of three, but I’m happy we’re upset that we didn’t.”

The Cardinals took a risk coming into the game, putting Randal Grichuk, whose ailing left elbow keeps him from throwing, in center field even though his arm wouldn’t allow him to do much in the way of throwing. The Cardinals were hoping to get some oomph from Grichuk’s bat he homered in his return on Tuesday while being able to finesse any plays he might have to make.

Grichuk said on Monday that what limited throwing he had done had not been pain-free, and that throws of just 60 feet caused discomfort. But he had done additional work since then and the Cardinals were confident that he could field the position and make the throws he had to make. B placing him in center field, there would always be someone nearby. Manager Mike Matheny met with Grichuk to discuss game situations and how he should handle them. The lesson in a nutshell: This is no time for heroics. Let someone else make the throws.

It took just three hitters for there to be trouble. With a runner on first and two out, Anthony Rizzo hit a ball into the gap that Grichuk got to before it got to the wall. It’s a play that Grichuk, and other outfielders, has made 1,000 times. But seldom like this. With Grichuk told not to throw, he flipped the ball to right fielder Jason Heyward, who threw it back to the infield. That extra time allowed Chris Coghlan to score from first and allowed Rizzo to go to second. Rizzo was caught off second when he made a big turn, but the Cardinals bungled the rundown no one covered third, allowing Rizzo to walk to the base after Reynolds threw the ball to Carpenter and he scored on a ground rule double by Tommy La Stella.

The Cardinals got a run back in the bottom of the first on a triple by Carpenter and a single by Heyward, and that was it for their offense against Lester. Lester retired the next two hitters to end the first, then allowed just one base runner a walk to Yadier Molina in the fifth in the final 21 hitters he faced. None were particularly hard hit. Lester came out after seven innings, striking out seven, allowing just two hits and walking only one. Martinez threw five innings for the Cardinals, allowing 10 hits while striking out eight.

The Cubs added a run in the second when Lester, who came into the game hitting .020, singled, went to second on a bloop single that just missed Carpenter’s glove, and scored on a single up the middle by Dexter Fowler.

The Cardinals now head to Cincinnati for a four-game series with the Reds while the Cubs head to Philadelphia.

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