Cardinals beat Cubs in old-fashion style

CHICAGO -- Yadier Molina had a simple goal for his ninth-inning at-bat with the bases loaded and the score tied Sunday.

"I was looking not to strike out," he said.

After fouling off some tough two-strike pitches, Molina grounded a single up the middle to drive in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped out of an offensive funk with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

"I got a little lucky that they were playing me to pull," Molina said. "It was a good at-bat. I was able to put the ball in play and good things happened."

The defending National League champions had lost four of five to fall a game below .500. The Cardinals scored all their runs with two outs.

St. Louis Cardinals starter Lance Lynn delivers a pitch during the first inning of baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Sunday, May 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Molina, moved into the No. 2 spot to jump start the lineup, was 0 for 4 before coming through in the ninth.

But it was a wild pitch in the seventh inning that allowed the Cubs to tie the score at 3 that had Molina more frustrated. The pitch from reliever Carlos Martinez was in the dirt and trickled through Molina's legs, allowing Luis Valbuena to score.

"I was there," Molina said. "I don't know. It's one of those things. I was ready for it and the ball still goes through my legs."

Kevin Siegrist (1-1) got the win in relief, while Trevor Rosenthal picked up his eighth save in as many opportunities despite a scare in the ninth inning.

Hector Randon (0-1) took the loss for the Cubs, who were attempting to win four straight games for the first time since July.

The Cardinals’ Matt Adams, left, celebrates with teammate Matt Holliday after defeating the Cubs 5-4 on Sunday in Chicago. (Paul Beaty ~ Associated Press)

While Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had looked for Molina, one of his hottest hitters, to get the offense going, it was a couple of struggling batters at the bottom of the lineup that got things started early.

With two outs in the second inning and Jhonny Peralta on first base, Randal Grichuk drilled a triple into the right-center field gap for a 1-0 lead. Mark Ellis, who went 3 for 4, followed with a double to left-center to make it 2-0.

Both Grichuk (.167) and Ellis (.143) entered hitting well below .200.

St. Louis stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third as Matt Adams doubled home Matt Holliday.

The Cubs pulled within 3-2 in the fourth with some clutch two-out hitting. With one out, Ryan Kalish singled and John Baker walked. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Cubs starter Jason Hammel singled to right to drive in both.

Molina seemed more relieved that the wild pitch wasn't a factor than he drove in the game-deciding runs.

"[Molina] does a good job of not wearing his emotions and how frustrating that is for him," Matheny said. "It's hard to count the number of balls he keeps in front of him, the number of runs he saves. It's something we don't take for granted."

Valbuena doubled in a run with two outs in the ninth to make it 5-4, but Rosenthal got Anthony Rizzo to ground out to end the game.

"Guys kept grinding it out," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "We just fell a little short."

NOTES: The ESPN broadcast team of Dan Shulman and John Kruk worked from the bleachers. ... While making a rehab start Sunday with Double A Springfield, LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) was hit by a pitch on the left elbow and left after two innings and 28 pitches. "I think they went in and took precautionary X-rays," Matheny said. "I haven't heard anything back yet." ... In the same game, RHP Jason Motte threw a scoreless inning, striking out three, in his first rehab outing. ... Rizzo entered with a .429 on-base percentage, which was fifth-best in the National League. ... The Cards open a series in Atlanta on Monday, with RHP Shelby Miller (3-2) facing RHP Aaron Harang, while the Cubs host the crosstown White Sox with RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-3) going up against LHP Jose Quintana (1-2).