CHICAGO, May 11 (UPI) -- Daniel Descalso's two-run single in the eighth inning Tuesday broke a 4-4 tie and lifted the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Descalso came up with two outs and the bases loaded against Kerry Wood (1-2) and delivered a solid hit to right, scoring Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday for the Cardinals.
Miguel Batista made the lead hold up with a scoreless eighth and Eduardo Sanchez shut out the Cubs in the ninth for his fourth save, as first-place St. Louis won for the third time in four games.
Chris Carpenter (1-2) earned the win despite allowing 13 hits in seven innings. He yielded four runs, walked two and struck out four.
The Cards were playing without Manager Tony La Russa, who will miss the rest of the team's current road trip to get treatment for an eye problem at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.
Pujols went 4-for-5 and Nick Punto added two hits and an RBI for St. Louis.
Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano got a no-decision after surrendering four runs on eight hit over seven frames.
Aramis Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and Dwight Barney added three hits and scored twice for Chicago.
