Cardinals snap Cubs' 11-game winning streak
CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals scored six runs in the eighth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-4 on Saturday and snap their 11-game winning streak.
Randal Grichuk hit his first grand slam on his 25th birthday in the eighth to cap the Cardinals' rally. St. Louis took a one-run lead on a wild pitch when Yadier Molina struck out with the bases loaded against Carl Edwards Jr.
Edwards walked the next two batters to bring in another run. Joe Smith replaced Edwards and allowed the grand slam, Grichuk’s 14th home run. Edwards walked four in the inning.
Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell singled against Seth Maness in the ninth. Maness then committed a throwing error on Jason Heyward's infield single, allowing a run to score.
Zach Duke replaced Maness and got Willson Contreras to fly out. A Javier Baez grounder scored another run.
Brandon Moss and Jedd Gyorko also hit a home run for the Cardinals, who had have won five of 11. St Louis (61-56) leads the National League with 160 home runs.
The Cubs, who have the best record in the majors at 73-42, saw their longest winning streak since 2001 snapped.
Starter Kyle Hendricks (11-8) tied a career high with 12 strikeouts but fell short of improving to 9-1 at Wrigley. He allowed two runs and
five hits, including two home runs, in seven innings. Hendricks struck out three in each of the first two innings.
Cardinals starter Luke Weaver's major league debut was over after 85 pitches. He allowed two runs in four innings after he was promoted from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday morning.
Weaver, who replaced injured Michael Wacha in the rotation, was 15-9 with a 1.78 ERA in 197 2/3 minor-league innings.
Weaver struck out the first two batters he faced, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant, and got Anthony Rizzo to pop out, but ran into trouble
in the second inning.
Russell homered following Zobrist's double for a 2-0 Cubs lead. Russell has a career-high 14 home runs and 71 RBIs this season. The Cubs loaded the bases, but Bryant grounded out to end the inning.
Alex Reyes, another highly touted prospect, replaced Weaver and struck out three in three scoreless innings in his Wrigley debut.
Moss homered off Hendricks in the sixth to cut the lead to 2-1. It was Moss' second home run of the series, and he leads the Cardinals with 20.
Gyorko's 17th home run tied the game in the seventh.
NOTES: The Cardinals placed OF Matt Holliday (broken thumb) on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of RHP Luke Weaver from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. Holliday was injured on Thursday when he was hit by a pitch. ... Cubs RHP Pedro Strop (meniscus tear in left knee) visited the clubhouse on crutches after undergoing surgery Friday. He is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. ... Cubs setup man Hector Rondon (sore right triceps) is doing well and getting closer to pitching, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. Rondon has not pitched since Aug. 2. ... Maddon said he remains optimistic that INF Tommy La Stella will return to the team. La Stella has refused to report to Triple-A Iowa after he was optioned July 29. He is on the temporary inactive list.