CHICAGO, July 13 (UPI) -- Home runs by Luis Valbuena and Alfonso Soriano Saturday carried the Chicago Cubs over St. Louis 6-4.
After building an early 3-1 lead on RBI singles from Dioner Navarro, Dave Sappelt and Starlin Castro in the third inning, Soriano made it 4-1 with a solo shot in the fourth.
Valbuena's two-run blast in the next inning gave Chicago a 6-1 advantage and proved to be the decisive blow for the Cubs, who recorded a sixth victory in eight games.
Matt Garza (6-1) reeled off his fifth win in five starts, surrendering two runs on 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander issued two walks and struck out four.
Kevin Gregg notched his 17th save despite allowing a run on two walks and a hit in the ninth.
Cardinals starter Lance Lynn (11-4) absorbed the loss, yielding six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Jon Jay went 4-for-5 with an RBI while Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig and Tony Cruz each drove in a run for St. Louis, which fell into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh atop the National League Central.
