Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
St. Louis 3, Chi. Cubs 2
When: 4:05 PM ET, Friday, July 12, 2013
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Temperature: 77°
Umpires: Home - Mike DiMuro, 1B - Wally Bell, 2B - Alfonso Marquez, 3B - Dan Bellino
Attendance: 37322


Cardinals 3, Cubs 2: Carlos Beltran fell a home run shy of the cycle while also scoring and driving in a run as visiting St. Louis evened its four-game series with Chicago at one game apiece.

Matt Carpenter had two hits while also scoring and driving in a run and Allen Craig added an RBI single. Making his second start, Joe Kelly (1-3) yielded one run on three hits in 5 1/3 solid innings as the National League Central-leading Cardinals posted their sixth win in seven contests.

Alfonso Soriano had an RBI single in the third inning to snap a 1-for-20 slump versus St. Louis. Starlin Castro led off the eighth with a home run to trim the Cubs' deficit to 3-2, but Edward Mujica retired the side in order in the ninth for his 26th save.

Beltran set the tone early by plating Carpenter after depositing an 0-2 curveball from Carlos Villanueva (2-5) into the right-field corner for an RBI triple. Beltran didn't have long to wait on third as Craig jumped on a 1-1 fastball and ripped it up the middle.

Villanueva permitted two runs on four hits in six innings before giving way to Matt Guerrier, who allowed a triple to Rob Johnson in the seventh. Carpenter brought him home with an RBI double to give the Cardinals a 3-1 advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday was a spectator, one day removed after exiting the series opener with a tight right hamstring. ... 3B Kris Bryant, who was the second overall pick in the 2013 first-year player draft, agreed to a $6.7 million signing bonus with Chicago. The 21-year-old is expected to be assigned to Class A Boise. ... Cardinals C Yadier Molina went 0-for-3 to extend his hitless drought to 16 consecutive at-bats.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
St. Louis   Chi. Cubs
Joe Kelly Player Carlos Villanueva
Win W/L Loss
5.1 IP 6.0
4 Strikeouts 4
3 Hits 4
1.69 ERA 3.00
Hitting
St. Louis   Chi. Cubs
Carlos Beltran Player Starlin Castro
3 Hits 2
1 RBI 1
0 HR 1
6 TB 5
.750 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
St. Louis 7 0 13 .206 14 7 3 3 0 0
Chi. Cubs 5 1 9 .161 12 9 2 3 0 0