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Cubs continue to play the spoiler

If you can’t compete with ’em, spoil ’em.

Or at least delay the inevitable.

That was the Cubs’ method of operation all week. They took two of the three from the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field before heading to Busch Stadium in St. Louis for a three-game weekend series.

The Cubs made the Brewers put the champagne on ice, but only until Friday. An eighth-inning outburst, capped by Alfonso Soriano’s 3-run homer, helped lift the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals. The Cubs’ victory, coupled with the Brewers’ victory in Milwaukee over the Marlins, eliminated the Cardinals from the race in the National League Central, making the Brewers champions.

The Cardinals’ wild-card hopes also took a hit, as St. Louis fell 3 games behind the Braves.

“We want to play well, and it was great these guys didn’t let Milwaukee make any hay against us at our place,” manager Mike Quade told reporters. “It doesn’t matter where you’re at. We’d like to beat these guys (given) the fact they’re in the hunt.”

There were some goodies in the prize box for the Cubs on this night.

Most important, shortstop Starlin Castro reached the 200-hit plateau with a single to center field in the first inning. He added an RBI single in the ninth.

On top of that, starting pitcher Ryan Dempster wheezed and grinded his way closer to the 200-inning mark, as he walked six and gave up 4 hits in 6 innings. Dempster now has pitched 196⅔ innings. He will pitch the season finale next Wednesday at San Diego.

The big story for the Cubs, though, is Castro. The 21-year-old emerging star became the youngest player in Cubs history to reach the 200-hit mark.

Castro is the first Cubs player to ever reach the milestone as a shortstop and only the fifth major-league player since 1940 to collect at least 200 hits at 21 years old or younger. Since the modern era began in 1900, Castro is just the 10th player to reach 200 hits in a season 21-years-old or younger.

The Cubs stunned the Cardinals in the eighth as the Cards suffered their second bullpen meltdown in two days. Kyle McClellan gave up a leadoff triple to Darwin Barney. One out later, the Cardinals walked Carlos Pena intentionally, but Soriano made them pay by hitting his 25th homer to left-center. The 3 RBI gave Soriano 84 for the season.

“We’re not worried about if it’s St. Louis or Atlanta who makes the playoffs,” Soriano told reporters. “We’ve just got to keep playing hard. I hope the Cardinals make the playoffs but they have to work hard because nothing is given in this game.”

The victory went to Jeff Samardzija, who is 8-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 74 games out of the bullpen.

Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano, left, rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Kyle McClellan, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)