Edmonds, Ramirez doing the little things

Small ball sparked by the hustle of Aramis Ramirez. Run-saving spectacular defense courtesy of Jim Edmonds.

Bet Cubs fans probably never thought those nuggets would bring them to their feet. But in this bizarro summer that has Wrigley Field faithful realistically thinking a long autumn of baseball, best expect the unexpected.

No two plays in Sunday night's 6-2 Cubs win over the Cardinals were bigger than those turned in by Ramirez and Edmonds.

Ramirez lined a single to lead off the second inning. Oft-maligned for dogging some plays, Ramirez this time alertly legged the hit into a two-bagger when Cardinals right fielder Ryan Ludwick booted the ball in the outfield grass. Ramirez took third on an Edmonds flyball and scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by Mark DeRosa.

"That was a nice manufactured run," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, "and it was due to Ramirez's hustle."

The Cubs lead was still 1-0 in the fourth when the Cardinals threatened with singles by Troy Glaus and Yadier Molina. With two outs and the runners on second and third, Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter lined a shot to short center. Edmonds, known for his highlight-reel catches while playing in St. Louis, laid out fully extended to rob Carpenter of a go-ahead hit.

"No chance," said Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster when asked if he thought the ball would be caught. "Jim is very smart, and with the wind blowing in he's going to move up. With two strikes he will move in even further. But I still thought it was going to drop. And if it does, who knows what happens next."

Edmonds, a Cardinal from 2000-07 and traded to San Diego before this season, tormented his former team throughout the weekend. He homered twice in Friday's Cubs win.

Edmonds' play wasn't the only gem turned in by Cubs gloves. Dempster sprawled on the mound twice to stop hard-hit grounders. Derrek Lee did a pirouette to catch a wide throw by Ronny Cedeno and tagged out Molina on a grounder to short in the sixth.

"I don't know how Derrek caught that ball and still tagged the runner," Piniella said.

"The defense tonight was ridiculous," Dempster said. "Guys were diving all over the place."