Kris Bryant slides home safely as the ball skips away from Yadier Molina

This was a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel for starters Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester.  The way baseball used to be played, when starters actually try to finish.  Wainwright limited the Cubs to four hits over 7 2/3 innings, and was pulled with a 2-1 lead and two outs.  But the Cubs rallied with hits off Matt Bowman and Brett Cecil for a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

After Paul DeJong and Randal Grichuk homered off Lester in the eighth to put St. Louis up 2-0, the Cubs strung a couple of hits against Wainwright. Jon Jay singled and with two outs scored on Ben Zobrist’s double. Bowman came on gave up an RBI single to Bryant to tie the game at 2-2. Rizzo doubled off lefty Brett Cecil to score Bryant.  Cecil hung a 3-2 off speed pitch that Rizzo blooped into short left center.  Since Bryant was taking off with the pitch he came around trying to score.  Dexter Fowler’s throw home short hopped Yadi Molina and bounced away.

The Cubs won for the seventh time in eight games since the All-Star break, while the Cardinals took their fourth loss in the eighth inning or later in their last nine games.

Lester was pitching a perfect for 5 2/3 innings before Wainwright singled with two outs in the sixth on the first pitch he saw. Lester struck out ten.  Closer Wade Davis walked Fowler and Jedd Gyorko with two outs in the ninth, but struck out Molina to save the game.