Schumaker powers Cards past Cubs

ST. LOUIS -- Skip Schumaker's two-run walk-off home run in the 11th inning gave the Cardinals a dramatic and hard-earned 5-3 win over the Cubs on Friday night.
Pinch-hitter Aaron Miles opened the inning with a bloop single into left field, and took second base on a wild pitch. Brendan Ryan bunted Miles over to third, and Schumaker hit the game-ender.

Ron Villone got the win for 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief. Villone escaped a two-on, two-out jam when he relieved Jason Isringhausen, who struggled once again. Isringhausen took his third blown save of the year, allowing a two-run homer to Alfonso Soriano in the top of the ninth.

Cubs starter Rich Hill walked four of the six batters he faced and didn't make it out of the first inning, but the Cardinals could muster only one run in the top of the first. They added another tally in the second when Brendan Ryan singled home pitcher Adam Wainwright.

After that, however, it was tough going against a string of Chicago relievers. St. Louis didn't score another run until the seventh, when an error and two Alfonso Soriano misplays led to a tally. Yadier Molina was credited with an RBI double when Soriano simply failed to glove his flyball to the warning track.

Wainwright turned in a fine game, pitching 6 1/3 innings of four-hit, one-run ball. He struck out five and walked one. Coming off a career-high 126-pitch effort six days ago against Houston, Wainwright pitched fewer than seven innings for the first time this year.

The Cardinals have won three straight and five out of six to improve to 19-11 on the year. They lead the second-place Cubs by 1 1/2 games in the National League Central.


Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.