One up, one down for Cubs in wild and crazy day-night doubleheader

The Cubs ended the first half in a doubleheader against St. Louis on Sunday the same way most of the season has gone - up and down and back at .500.

Coming off consecutive NL Central titles, not many expected to see the Cubs sitting at 43-43 at the all-star break, the 20th time they have been at .500 this season.

They also didn't think they'd see Jeff Baker at second base, Sam Fuld in center field, Jake Fox behind the plate and Sean Marshall in left field - left field - which Lou Piniella used in the ninth inning of Sunday's Game 2 to escape a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam.

Piniella's move certainly energized the crowd, but when Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin caught three straight batters looking in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs were still on the short end of a 4-2 final. The North Siders won the afternoon opener 7-3.

Adam Wainwright continued to establish himself as a new Cubs killer, while Ryan Ludwick supplied the offense with a pair of 2-run homers, helping the Cardinals salvage a split and keeping the Cubs 31/2 games back in the NL Central.

"We did what we had to do to keep the game in check and it worked," Piniella said. "That strike zone got awfully big in the ninth inning. It got big high and big low."

The Cubs were hoping to put an exclamation point on a four-game series with division-leading St. Louis with a Sunday sweep. Instead, it's more question marks about whether they have what it takes to rally in the second half.

Piniella pulled out all the stops. After Marshall walked Nick Stavinoha to load the bases in the ninth, the Cubs' skipper sent Marshall to left field, replacing Alfonso Soriano.

With Marshall getting a standing ovation and "We are Marshall" chants from the fans in the left-field bleachers, Aaron Heilman struck out Brendan Ryan. Marshall then returned to the mound, with Reed Johnson going to left. Marshall struck out Jarrett Hoffpauir and then Johnson's tumbling, shoestring catch retired Colby Rasmus to end a ninth inning you might never see again.

"I told (Cubs first-base coach Frank) Sinatro that was a classic," Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said. "It was fun to be a part of. It took creativity and guts by Lou however it turned out."

"Reed made that great play and we got the call," Marshall said. "I just wish we could have got the win. It would have been funny if he (Ryan) would have hit a shallow sacrifice fly and I could have thrown out (Yadier) Molina at home plate or something. It would have been icing on the cake."

The opener also featured its share of wacky plays, with Carlos Zambrano pitching and hitting the Cubs to victory. With 41,244 fans on hand for the nightcap, 81,945 witnessed just the third day-night doubleheader in Wrigley Field history.

All three of the doubleheaders have been against St. Louis, the last one a memorable September split on the Cubs' surge to overtake the Cardinals and win the division in 2003.

They were hoping for a similar springboard Sunday. Wainwright had other ideas, scattering 7 hits in 8 innings and improving to 10-5 - 3-0 against the Cubs. The Cardinals have won Wainwright's last 6 starts against the Cubs.

Randy Wells (4-4) kept the Cubs close, retiring Triple Crown threat Albert Pujols three times. It was Rasmus (2 walks, single) and Ludwick, hitting ahead and behind Pujols, that caused the problems.

"The gameplan going in was not to let Pujols beat you and try to get Ludwick out and I didn't do that," Wells said.

Ludwick hit his 2-run blasts in the first and sixth, trumping Derrek Lee and Milton Bradley's RBI. Soriano, who drew cheers after going 2-for-3 in the opener, had the boo birds back out after an 0-for-4 nightcap, leaving him at .233 and one of the Cubs who needs to rebound in the second half starting in Washington on Thursday against the 26-61 Nationals.

"I feel we are in good position to win this division," Piniella said. "Two things: get healthy and swing the bats. That's it. We do those two things we can win the second half. Those are two big ifs, though."

<p class="factboxheadblack">John Lemon's game(s) tracker</p> <p class="News"><b>Signs of life:</b> Milton Bradley walked 3 times in the first game, then again in his first at-bat in the second before delivering a single and double. He reached base 6 times Sunday but hitting in the No. 6 hole only was driven in once by the bottom of the order (and that came on a St. Louis error).</p> <p class="News"><b>Double duty:</b> Koyie Hill caught both games of the doubleheader. Lou Piniella chose that option over giving Jake Fox a start. Hill went 0-for-6 and stranded 7 runners before Kosuke Fukudome pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning. Fox, the backup catcher for now with Geovany Soto sidelined, caught the final 2 innings incident free.</p> <p class="News"><b>Wild Wells:</b> Randy Wells walked three and allowed 4 runs - only the second time in 12 starts he's done either. He also continued to eat innings, going 7 innings for the fifth time and at least 6 innings for the 10th time.</p> <p class="News"><b>Bench power:</b> Micah Hoffpauir belted a 3-run home run in the first inning of the opener. Jake Fox (2-for-5 in Game 1) and Sam Fuld (2-for-3, double, run, diving catch) also helped spell the regulars.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=306495">Soriano continues to make gains <span class="date">[7/13/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=306501">Zambrano a hit - but every day?<span class="date">[7/13/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=306497">Imrem: Pujols pummeling Cubs' Terrible Trio<span class="date">[7/13/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>