Cubs win, open 1 1/2 game lead on Brewers
ST. LOUIS - Carlos Zambrano came up big. The St. Louis Cardinals didn't.
Zambrano allowed 4 hits in 8 innings, Cliff Floyd hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh, and the Cubs beat St. Louis 5-3 Friday night to send the Cardinals to their eighth straight loss.
The Cubs, who survived a wild ninth that ended with the bases loaded, won for the fifth time in seven games and opened a 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central, the Cubs' largest margin since before play on Sept. 4.
St. Louis has lost eight straight for the first time since July 27 to Aug. 4 last year. The defending World Series champions, just one game out of first before play last Saturday, are six behind the Cubs, their largest division deficit since Aug. 11.
Zambrano (16-12) won his second straight start after losing five in a row. He improved to 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA against the Cardinals this season and tied his career best for wins, set in 2004 and matched last year.
Mark DeRosa's RBI single in the fourth put the Cubs ahead against Adam Wainwright (13-11), but Albert Pujols ended a 20-game, 75-at-bat homerless drought when he connected in the sixth. He hadn't hit one since Aug. 22 off FloridaȢȢ‚ˆ¬Ãƒˆ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ˆ¢s Scott Olsen.
Floyd homered into the CardinalsȢȢ‚ˆ¬Ãƒˆ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ˆ¢ bullpen beyond the right-field wall leading off the seventh. While he has just eight home runs this season, he's connected in three straight games.
Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward hit a three-run double off Jason Isringhausen in the ninth - he's 2-for-2 for his career against Isringhausen - for a 5-1 lead. That turned out to be key.
Jim Edmonds hit a solo homer with one out in the ninth off Ryan Dempster, and Ryan Ludwick added homered with two outs.
Yadier Molina singled, Bob Howry relieved, and Russell Branyan and So Taguchi singled to load the bases. Aaron Miles then grounded out to shortstop, giving Howry his eighth save in 12 chances.
Wainwright (13-11) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, dropping to 0-3 against the Cubs.
Chicago is 9-4 against the Cardinals this year, including 5-1 at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals' Scott Spiezio was activated from the restricted list earlier in the day and manager Tony La Russa put him right in the lineup at third base after shortstop David Eckstein was scratched with back soreness, with Brendan Ryan moving from third to shortstop. Spiezio got a nice ovation before his first at-bat and played seven innings, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
La Russa juggled his shaky rotation, saving Wainwright for the Cubs on six days' rest after earlier planning to work him on Thursday in Cincinnati. He said Wainwright and Braden Looper would work on regular rest the rest of the season.
Notes: New Saint Louis basketball coach Rick Majerus threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Zambrano has 75 wins since 2003, three fewer than the AstrosȢȢ‚ˆ¬Ãƒˆ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ˆ¢ Roy Oswalt for the NL lead. ... The Cubs have hit 21 homers in September and have homered in seven straight.