CHICAGO (AP) – Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Jose Quintana won again and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday night to move into a virtual tie for first in the NL Central.
Kyle Schwarber also connected as the Cubs won for the eighth time in nine games since the All-Star break. The World Series champions improved to 51-46, just a few percentage points ahead of Milwaukee after the Brewers (53-48) lost 6-3 at Philadelphia.
Quintana (6-8) struck out seven in six innings in his first home start since he was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the White Sox on July 13. He pitched seven sparkling innings in an 8-0 victory at Baltimore in his Cubs debut last Sunday.
Coming off his first career shutout, Michael Wacha (7-4) was charged with five runs and six hits in six innings in his first loss since May 30.
Wade Davis finished for his 20th save in 20 chances.
St. Louis returns home Monday night to begin a three-game series against Colorado. Mike Leake (6-8) starts for the Cardinals while Antonia Senzatela (10-3) goes for the Rockies. Game time is 7:08 with the pre-game at 6:13 on KTLO-AM.
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