The Cubs let another chance to sweep a series and gain important ground go by the wayside.The largest Wrigley Field crowd of the season saw Felipe Lopez take Cub newcomer Brian Schlitter deep in the top of the 11th,and the St.Louis Cardinals salvaged the finale of the three game series 4-3.Ryan Dempster escaped trouble in the top of the first after Ryan Ludwick singled with one out, and Albert Pujols walked. Matt Holiday bounced into a 6-4 force leaving runners at the corners,but when Holliday tried to steal second, Geovany Soto threw on down to second and Ludwick broke for home. The relay back to Soto by Starlin Castro was in plenty of time to nail Holliday and end the inning. The the Cardinals second, Jon Jay hit one to very deep right center field which Marlon Byrd broke back on,but could catch up to and it fell in while Jay easily took third. Skip Schumaker line an RBI single to center.After Yadier Molina fanned and Chris Carpenter bunted Schumaker to second, Brendan Ryan(batting ninth like most pitchers in Tony LaRussa’s lineup) singled to left to put St.Louis ahead 2-0. The Cubs got on the board against Carpenter in the bottom of the fourth when Derrek Lee doubled into the LF corner and one out later scored on a single to center by Byrd. After Dempster got the Redbirds in order in the top of the fifth, the Cubs got to Carpenter in the home half. Soto coaxed a walk on which Carpenter came off the mound arguing with Plate Umpire Bob Davidson,but after LaRussa came out to get between them,things settled down.Carpenter though must have been shook up some since Ryan Theriot clobbered one to right center and when Jay dove for the ball,it bounced past him to the warning track for a game tying triple. Two outs later, Castro lined a single to left center to give the Cubs the lead for the first time 3-2. That lasted until Dempster decided to challenge Pujols with a 3-1 fast ball which he deposited into the LF Bleachers for his 23rd homer of the season. With two gone, Schumaker lined a double into the Cub bullpen but after Molina was intentionally walked, Carpenter lined a single to center field, and Byrd,who wasn’t playing that deep,came up throwing and gunned down Schumaker trying to score and preserving the 3-3 tie.The Cubs got one out singles from Byrd and Alfonso Soriano in the bottom of the sixth,but Soto hit into a 6-4-3 DP to kill that inning. The Cards came close in the top of the 7th. Ryan singled,but was caught stealing. Then with two gone,Ludwick singled just over Theriot’s reach. This time Pujols hit one that Soriano caught right in front of the vines near the curve in the wall,and that would end the night for Dempster who was lifted for pinch hitter Mike Fontenot in the bottom of the 7th in which the Cubs went down in order against Carpenter who was also in his final inning.In the Cards 8th,with two gone against Sean Marshall,Schumaker and Molina lined singles and Aaron Miles(booed loudly by Cubs fans who remember the awful one season of 2009 he had as a Cub)bounced into a 6-4 force to end the inning. Jason Motte started the bottom of the 8th for St.Louis and had a 1-2-3 inning. Carlos Marmol was also perfect in the top of the 9th for the Cubs. Cards closer Ryan Franklin started the bottom of the 9th and the Cubs had a chance when Soriano singled with one out,and after Soto flew out to RF, A wild pitch allowed the winning run to advance to second, but Theriot grounded to Pujols. Brian Schlitter came on for the tenth for the Cubs and after getting Pujols on na grounder to 3B, he gave up singles to Holliday and Jay. Schumaker,who wasn’t retired all night,lined a hard single to CF to load the bases but Schlitter got Molina to to hit into a taylor made 4-6-3 DP to keep the game tied. In the Cub 10th against Franklin, Kosuke Fukudome single to RF in his first at bat of the night. Colvin hit a bouncer to Franklin who’s throw pulled Ryan off the second base bag,but Umpire Alfonso Marquez called Fukudome out,giving the Crads a huge break. Castro was hit by a pitch and after Lee popped out to first, Aramis Ramirez hit a bouncer that handcuffed Schumaker for an error,loading the bases,but Byrd looked at a called third strike. Schlitter(0-1)gave up the winning blow to Lopez before the Cardinals got through the Cub 11th despite a leadoff pinch single by Xavier Nady who was forced by Jeff Baker. As Theroit fanned for the second out, as Baker got his first steal of the season. Fukudome then had to face left hander Dennys Reyes who over-matched the Cubs left handed hitter and made him look awful in fanning him to end the game.
NOTES—Attendance was a season high of 41,406…..The Cubs open their road trip in Houston Monday night with Carlos Silva(9-4)trying to bounce back from two bad starts in a row opposing Wesley Wright(0-0).
LES