Ramirez, Marmol hurt in Cubs' loss

The lineup changed, only the result stayed the same.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella shook things up Friday night at Busch Stadium, hoping to wake up his lethargic offense.

The Cubs came alive briefly in the seventh inning, when they got some help from the Cardinals defense to score 3 runs and tie the game at 3-3. But wasted chances throughout the game came back to haunt the Cubs as the Cardinals scored a run in the eighth to gain a 4-3 victory.

The loss was the Cubs' third in a row and sent their record to 8-7, 3 games behind the Cardinals in the National League Central. The Cubs also lost third baseman Aramis Ramirez to a strained left calf and reliever Carlos Marmol to a left-knee strain, suffered in the eighth, when his spikes appeared to get caught in the dirt, causing him to twist his left leg.

It wasn't immediately known how long each player would be out, but the Cubs can ill afford to lose either.

"We've got no bench," Piniella told reporters afterward. "We've got to get somebody in here."

Piniella had talked about lineup changes after the Cubs dropped two of three to the Reds at Wrigley Field this week. But he did provide one big surprise when he dropped Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot for the first time this year and batted him third.

Ryan Theriot batted first and went 0-for-5, including a lineout to center field with a man on base to end the game.

Soriano went 1-for-4. HIs only hit came, interestingly, when he led off the eighth inning with a double. Aaron Miles sacrificed Soriano to third, but Derrek Lee lined out hard to third, and Fontenot struck out for the third time in the game.

Piniella wasn't sure how long his new-look lineup would last.

"Take a look at it and see how it works," he told reporters.

Soriano, who has a comfort level batting first, seemed receptive to hitting third.

"Whatever they want to do to make the team better, I'm open," he told the media.

Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster gave up 3 runs in the fifth inning. The Cubs got 3 (1 unearned) in the seventh against Adam Wainwright. Fontenot doubled home 1 run. Another scored on an error by Skip Schumaker on pinch hitter Micah Hoffpauir's flyball to left. Theriot's double-play grounder scored the third run.

Marmol got one out in the bottom of the eighth before Albert Pujols singled and stole second base. He scored on Ryan Ludwick's single.

Bruce Miles' game tracker

Ramirez injured: Third baseman Aramis Ramirez strained his left calf running out a double in the second inning. He did not leave the game until the fifth, when Mike Fontenot moved from second to third and Aaron Miles came in to play second.

Pitch tracker: Starter Ryan Dempster threw only 45 pitches through the first 4 innings. He lasted 6, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs while walking one and striking out six. It marked the Cubs' fourth quality start in a row. They've lost 3 of those starts, and for the season the Cubs are 4-5 when the starter turns in a quality start.

That hurts: Setup man Carlos Marmol hit Brian Barden with a pitch in the eighth inning. It was Marmol's third hit batter this season. In spring training, Marmol hit five.

LOB and RISP: The Cubs left seven men on base, and their hitters were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.