CHICAGO -- Yadier Molina had a simple goal for his ninth-inning at-bat with the bases loaded and the score tied on Sunday. "I was looking not to strike out," he said. After fouling off some tough two-strike pitches, Molina hit a ground-ball single up the middle to drive in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped out of an offensive funk with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. "I got a little lucky that they were playing me to pull," Molina said. "It was a good at-bat. I was able to put the ball in play and good things happened." The defending National League champions had lost four of five to fall a game below .500. The Cardinals scored all their runs with two outs. Molina, moved into the No. 2 spot to jump start the lineup, was 0 for 4 before coming through in the ninth. But it was a wild pitch in the seventh inning that allowed the Cubs to tie the score at 3 that had Molina more frustrated. The pitch from reliever Carlos Martinez was in the dirt and trickled through Molinas legs, allowing Luis Valbuena to score. "I was there," Molina said. "I dont know. Its one of those things. I was ready for it and the ball still goes through my legs." Kevin Siegrist (1-1) got the win in relief, while Trevor Rosenthal picked up his eighth save in as many opportunities despite a scare in the ninth inning. Hector Randon (0-1) took the loss for the Cubs, who were attempting to win four straight games for the first time since July. While Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had looked for Molina, one of his hottest hitters, to get the offence going, it was a couple of struggling batters at the bottom of the lineup that got things started early. With two outs in the second inning and Jhonny Peralta on first base, Randal Grichuk drilled a triple into the right-centre field gap for a 1-0 lead. Mark Ellis, who went 3 for 4, followed with a double to left-centre to make it 2-0. Both Grichuk (.167) and Ellis (.143) entered hitting well below .200. St. Louis stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third as Matt Adams doubled home Matt Holiday. The Cubs pulled within 3-2 in the fourth with some clutch two-out hitting. With one out, Ryan Kalish singled and John Baker walked. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Cubs starter Jason Hammel singled to right to drive in both. Molinas go-ahead single to centre came on the sixth pitch of the at-bat from Randon. "I thought I made a good pitch today, but something happened," Randon said. Molina seemed more relieved that the wild pitch wasnt a factor than he drove in the game-deciding runs. "(Molina) does a good job of not wearing his emotions and how frustrating that is for him," Matheny said. "Its hard to count the number of balls he keeps in front of him, the number of runs he saves. Its something we dont take for granted." Valbuena doubled in a run with two outs in the ninth to make it 5-4, but Rosenthal got Anthony Rizzo to ground out to end the game. "Guys kept grinding it out," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "We just fell a little short." NOTES: The ESPN broadcast team of Dan Shulman and John Kruk worked from the bleachers. ... While making a rehab start Sunday with Double A Springfield, LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) was hit by a pitch on the left elbow and left after two innings and 28 pitches. "I think they went in and took precautionary X-rays," Matheny said. "I havent heard anything back yet." ... In the same game, RHP Jason Motte threw a scoreless inning, striking out three, in his first rehab outing. ... Rizzo entered with a .429 on-base percentage, which was fifth-best in the National League. ... The Cards open a series in Atlanta on Monday, with RHP Shelby Miller (3-2) facing RHP Aaron Harang, while the Cubs host the crosstown White Sox with RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-3) going up against LHP Jose Quintana (1-2). Doug Williams Youth Jersey . Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time," England coach Stuart Lancaster said. Joe Theismann Jersey .C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Sam-Huff-Jersey/. Rookie Christian Vazquez got his first three major league hits and drove in three runs, while David Ortiz had three RBIs to break open the game in the sixth inning and lead Boston over the Houston Astros 8-3. Alex Smith Womens Jersey . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Wes Martin Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season.(NLL) - The Philadelphia Wings acquired Minnesota Swarm goaltender Evan Kirk and transition player Ryan Hotaling from the Colorado Mammoth on Friday as part of a three-team trade that sends forward Drew Westervelt to the Colorado Mammoth and future draft picks to both Colorado and Minnesota. Kirk comes to Philadelphia after two seasons in Minnesota where he earned a 77% save rating along with a 12.08 goals against average. In his two-year stint with the Swarm, Kirk owned a 7-7 record and tallied 548 saves. The Orangeville, Ontario native joins veteran goalie Brandon Miller to form a solid duo in net. Transition player Hotaling joins the Wings in his fourth season from Colorado after previously spending two seasons in Boston. The Syracuse native played in five games for the Mammoth in 2013, scoring a goal and sccooping 23 loose balls.dddddddddddd Hotaling was a member of the 2011 USA Indoor Team that took home Gold at the World Games in Prague. "Drew is a quality player and an even better person, and we will all miss him. However, we felt we needed to have more depth at the goaltending position and had to give quality to get quality," said Wings head coach Blane Harrison. "We wish Drew the best of luck on his new team and look forward to the seeing the new Wings competing at camp later this fall." In addition to the dealing of Westervelt, the Wings traded their 32nd pick in the 2013 draft to Colorado, while receiving the Mammoths first pick in 2015, as well as their 12th and 18th picks in the upcoming draft. Philadelphia also gives up their first pick in the 2017 draft to Minnesota. ' ' '