ST. LOUIS -- With a walk-off home run by Randal Grichuk, the Cardinals completed a 4-3, come-from-behind win on Monday to carve into the Cubs' lead in the National League Central. The victory, which came in front of a sellout crowd at Busch Stadium, pulled the Cardinals to within six games of the Cubs, the closest they've been since the second day of May.
Grichuk's first career walk-off home run came off reliever Adam Warren, who had retired the first five batters he faced to pull the Cubs to within one out of extra innings. It also came a half-inning after Chicago advanced the potential go-ahead run to third with one out, but the runner was erased on a double play that helped Trevor Rosenthal out of a jam.
The Cubs held a two-run lead until the seventh, when Matt Adams stung starter John Lackey with a game-tying pinch-hit home run. Up to that point, Lackey had held his former club to three singles and one third-inning run while striking out nine. His dominance was familiar to many in attendance on Monday, too, as each of Lackey's 24 career starts at Busch Stadium have now been quality ones. Of course, 22 of those came for the home team.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright matched Lackey's tempo early, rolling through three innings on 37 pitches. He could not, however, keep that pace. It took Wainwright 71 pitches to cover the next three innings, during which the Cubs scored three times. He allowed a game-tying RBI single to Miguel Montero in the fourth, and Anthony Rizzo extended the lead with a run-scoring single in the next inning.
Jenifer Langosch has covered the Cardinals for MLB.com since 2012, and previously covered the Pirates from 2007-11. Read her blog, follow her on Twitter, like her Facebook page and listen to her podcast.
Carrie Muskat has covered the Cubs since 1987, and for MLB.com since 2001. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings. You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat and listen to her podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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