ST. LOUIS Kyle Hendricks struck out eight over seven sharp innings, Ben Zobrist had four hits and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Sunday night to salvage the finale of their weekend series.
Hendricks (7-9) retired his last 17 batters, settling into a nice little groove after Marcell Ozunas two-run homer in the first inning. The right-hander allowed four hits and walked none in just his second win in his last eight starts.
Zobrist and Anthony Rizzo homered as NL leading-Chicago moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Brewers lost 8-5 at San Francisco.
St. Louis had won three of four. John Gant (3-4) was charged with three runs, two earned, and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Zobrist, who also had four hits in a 7-2 win over St. Louis on July 21, drove Gants seventh pitch of the game over the wall in right-center for his seventh homer. Rizzo tied it at 2 with his 15th homer in the third.
Chicago (61-44) then went ahead to stay with three runs in the fifth, taking advantage of a key error by second baseman Yairo Munoz.
Zobrists two-out double put runners on second and third before Munoz bobbled Jason Heywards grounder, allowing Rizzo to score. Javier Baez followed with a two-run double.
Pedro Strop pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.
Ozunas first-inning homer was his second in as many games. He hit a grand slam in Saturdays 6-2 win.
The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 16 minutes due to rain.
TRAINERS ROOM
Cardinals: INF/OF Jose Martinez was scratched due to soreness in his right ankle. It just felt like his mobility was a little bit limited, interim manager Mike Shildt. So well take it day by day.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (6-6, 3.39 ERA) will take on LHP Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.57 ERA) in the first of a four-game series at home against Colorado on Monday. Martinez will be making his first appearance since being placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right oblique strain on July 20.
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