ST. LOUIS -- Darwin Barney doubled in two runs to tie the game and Dioner Navarro followed with a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning Saturday night to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
How it happened: With the Cardinals ahead 4-2, reliever Trevor Rosenthal walked two batters to open the eighth before striking out Starlin Castro and Cody Ransom, both on 100 mph fastballs. Barney worked the count to 2-2 before Rosenthal threw his 29th consecutive fastball of the inning -- the 10th of which hit 100 mph on the radar gun -- but Barney turned it into a double to right center. Navarro, cleared to play just before the game, came off the bench and drove in Barney with the go-ahead run with another double. Nate Schierholtz drove in what proved to be the game-winning run with a single in the ninth, scoring Junior Lake, who led off the inning with a double. The Cardinals' Matt Holliday hit his second home run on the night with one out in the ninth, but Cubs reliever Kevin Gregg got the next two batters he faced to ground out.
What it means: The victory allowed the Cubs to win consecutive games for the first time since July 17-18, a span of 13 games since their last consecutive wins. That was part of a three-game winning streak. This is only the third time since July 6-9 that the Cubs have won two or more games in a row.
Outside the box: The rally got starter Carlos Villanueva off the hook for another loss. Villanueva was making his 12th start since his only win as a starter this season, on April 18 against Texas. He is now 0-7 with five no-decisions in those 12 starts. He allowed a three-run homer by Holliday in the fourth after Welington Castillo’s homer had put the Cubs in front 1-0 in the second.
Up next: Former Cardinal Edwin Jackson (7-12, 4.96 ERA) will start the series finale for the Cubs in the 1:15 p.m. game on Sunday. Joe Kelly (3-3, 2.98 ERA) will start for the Cardinals.
