Chi. Cubs 8, St. Louis 3

CHICAGO, June 23 (UPI) -- With the St. Louis Cardinals reeling from the death of star pitcher Darryl Kile, Kerry Wood took a shutout into the eighth inning Sunday night and got support from Alex Gonzalez and Moises Alou as the Chicago Cubs rolled to an 8-3 victory.

Kile, who was scheduled to start this game, was found dead in his hotel room Saturday. He apparently of a blocked coronary artery.

Saturday's game between these long-time rivals was postponed, but the Cardinals voted unanimously to play Sunday night's nationally televised contest.

A moment of silence was held before the game, no pre-recorded or organ music was played at Wrigley Field and the Cardinals wore Kile's No. 57 on their sleeves.

Amid the somber setting, Wood (7-5) allowed two runs and five hits over eight innings with three walks and four strikeouts for his first win in four starts. He did not allow a run until Albert Pujols crushed a two-run homer to the back of the bleachers in left-center field with two out in the top of the eighth.

Gonzalez opened the scoring for the Cubs with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second and Alou's two-run blast capped a three-run third off rookie Jason Simontacchi (5-1).

"I can't even really tell you how everyone felt about playing the game tonight," Alou said. "It meant a lot, especially for the Cardinals. It meant a lot to us and and it meant a lot to everyone in baseball.

"We had to play today, but win or lose, everybody's mind was not in the game today."