Grichuk walkoff homer lifts Cardinals past Cubs
ST. LOUIS -- Randal Grichuk fired his helmet high in the air as he neared home plate, hero of the latest installment in the Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals rivalry.
Grichuk's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night lifted St. Louis to a 4-3 win at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Grichuk picked on a 2-2 slider from reliever Adam Warren (3-1), cracking it 382 feet into the Cardinals' bullpen beyond the right-center-field wall for the first walkoff homer of his career.
Trevor Rosenthal (2-1) earned the win with a scoreless ninth, escaping a two-on, one-out jam when third baseman Matt Carpenter made a diving catch of Anthony Rizzo's looping liner and doubled Dexter Fowler off third.
St. Louis (24-21) improved to 4-3 on its nine-game homestand and moved within six games of Chicago (29-14) in the NL Central. It was the Cubs' sixth loss in their last eight games, but they remain five games clear of second-place Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals tied it in the seventh when Matt Adams bombed a two-run homer off John Lackey, pouncing on a hanging breaking ball and lofting it 407 feet to center field. It was Adams' fifth homer of the year and the team's ninth pinch-homer, one off the franchise record set in 1998.
Neither starter was around for the decision. Lackey worked seven innings, allowing four hits and three runs with a walk and nine strikeouts.
St. Louis' Adam Wainwright pitched six innings, yielding seven hits and three runs while walking three and fanning four.
St. Louis initiated scoring in the bottom of the third inning as Aledmys Diaz lofted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left, plating Grichuk. Lackey avoided further damage by whiffing Matt Holliday for the third out, stranding men at first and second.
The Cubs responded with two runs in the fourth. Miguel Montero tied it with an RBI single to left-center and Addison Russell's fielder's-choice bouncer with the bases loaded scored Jorge Soler with the tie-breaking run.
After two walks in the fifth, Anthony Rizzo upped the Chicago lead to 3-1 with a broken-bat RBI single to left that chased Kris Bryant home.
NOTES: St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) went 1-for-3 with a double in a rehab game at Class A Peoria Monday morning, his first hit in seven at-bats over three rehab games. ... Chicago RF Jason Heyward (rib cage contusion) missed his third straight game but is hopeful of returning to the lineup for Tuesday night's game. ... The Cubs released OF Shane Victorino from their Triple-A team in Iowa. He batted .233 in 30 at-bats and wasn't going to beat out younger reserve Matt Szczur for a spot on the bench.