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 The half that came out to root for the host Cubs didn't leave
disappointed.
Third baseman Luis Valbuena hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the
seventh inning, Ryan Sweeney had four RBIs and Chicago held on for a
7-6 victory during the back-and-forth opener of a 3-game series.
The Cubs overcame deficits of 3-0 and 6-5, blowing a two-run lead of
their own in the process, in front of 41,534 fans with evenly
divided allegiances.
Valbuena also walked twice, scoring each time, as the Cubs won for
just the second time in nine games. The Cardinals lost their fourth
straight, their longest skid since Aug. 7-10, 2013.
Valbuena's game-winner was set up when reliever Kevin Siegrist (1-2)
hit Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo with a pitch, the first of two
times that Rizzo was beaned. With one out, Valbuena drove the first
pitch he saw into the stands for his seventh homer of the season.
"I was looking for a fastball. ... He threw me a first-pitch
fastball right there," Valbuena said.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said allowing free baserunners was
his team's biggest issue.
 "Whether it's the walks, whether it's the hit batsmen, those
typically come back to haunt you, and they did again today," he
said.
Matt Carpenter, whose solo homer in the fifth inning was the
catalyst for the Cardinals' comeback, came up short in the eighth
with the game hanging in the balance. With the capacity crowd on its
feet and at full throat, reliever Neil Ramirez got Carpenter
swinging to strand Tony Cruz at third.
"(Carpenter is) a tough out," Ramirez said. "You try to reach back
and get a little bit extra (on the pitch). ... It was a good
battle."
Ramirez had surrendered a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Kolten
Wong, who then stole second. The call was challenged by Cubs manager
Rick Renteria but upheld after a two-minute review. Wong got caught
in a rundown on a grounder but delayed the tag long enough for Cruz
to reach second. He then took third on a wild pitch.
Justin Grimm (3-2) pitched the seventh, giving up a hit and a walk
with two strikeouts for the win. Hector Rondon gave up a single in
the ninth and posted his 12th save in 15 chances.
Carpenter, who finished 3-for-5, led off the fifth inning with his
fifth homer of the season against Cubs starter Travis Wood. After
shortstop Jhonny Peralta struck out on three pitches, left fielder
Matt Holliday delivered a solo shot, part of a three-hit day, to tie
the score.
Wood recovered from a rocky start to give up five runs (two earned),
seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He threw 66 pitches
through the first two innings on his way to 113 total.
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His St. Louis counterpart, Joe Kelly, went 4 2/3 innings and gave up
five earned runs, eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
"I was just throwing some bad pitches," said Kelly, who was also
struck by a foul ball while in the dugout during the third inning.
"Got two strikes on some hitters that I should be putting away."
Pinch-hitter Oscar Tavares delivered an RBI single to score second
baseman Mark Ellis in a lefty-lefty matchup against Wesley Wright to
give the Cardinals 6-5 lead in the sixth. Ellis scored from second
after reaching on a fielder's choice and advancing on passed ball.
The Cardinals got three unearned runs in the first inning with the
help of Arismendy Alcantara's first error at second base. Alcantara
overthrew Castro at second trying to turn two, allowing Carpenter to
score from second. Jon Jay followed two batters later with a two-run
double.
Ryan Sweeney tied to score at 3 with one swing in the second inning.
With two on, Sweeney drove a 1-2 pitch off Wood to left-center field
for his second homer of the season.
Sweeney delivered again in the third inning with an RBI single and
Wood hit his third home run of the season in the fourth to give the
Cubs a 5-3 lead.
"Anything I can do to help the team whenever I get in there, I've
got to try to do what I can," Sweeney said.
NOTES: Cubs manager Rick Renteria said RHP Edwin Jackson was showing
no lingering effects from cramps in his pitching hand that forced an
early exit from Thursday's 13-3 loss to the San Diego Padres. ...
Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo, who led the National League with 25 home
runs entering Friday, singled in the third inning to extended his
hitting streak to a career-high 10 games.
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reserved.]
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