ST. LOUIS -- A strong sense of deja vu kept creeping over Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Cubs never lost their advantage on the scoreboard after Kris Bryant's RBI single off Lance Lynn in the first inning. But five straight come-from-behind wins and consistent scoring opportunities almost made it feel as if the Cardinals held the edge, right up until their final out in a 6-5 loss.
"That's the great thing about this team is everybody was sensing that here it goes again," third baseman Matt Carpenter said following the end of a drama-filled eight-game win streak. "'We're going to find a way to win this,' and I'm sure you guys felt the same way because that's the way it's been going."
Extra innings seemed nearly inevitable after center fielder Peter Bourjos led off the ninth with a single and then sped all the way to third when Carpenter grounded out to first on a hit-and-run. Hector Rondon surprised no one by throwing four straight balls to left fielder Matt Holliday to set up a double play, and Mark Reynolds came up with a chance for his third critical hit in as many nights.
But this time, he couldn't find the magic that produced a first-inning grand slam to cut into a 5-0 deficit Monday, as well as a game-winning double in the seventh on Tuesday. Instead, Rondon took advantage of the first baseman's biggest weakness, striking him out before sealing the save on shortstop Jhonny Peralta's groundout to short.
"I feel as bad as anybody that I didn't get that ball out there," said Reynolds, who struck out more than 120 times in all nine of his full seasons in the majors. "Just hit a sac fly to at least tie the game. Tomorrow's another day, I guess."
Reynolds, who also struck out looking after Holliday's two-out double in the seventh, wasn't the only one who missed a chance to at least tie the game. St. Louis left the tying run in scoring position in five different innings, including the last four.
The Cardinals nearly came all the way back from a 5-2 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning, when four two-out singles scored two runs. Cubs ace Jon Lester finally got the third out by fanning pinch hitter Matt Adams to strand runners on second and third.
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Pinch hitter Kolten Wong's one-out RBI single in the eighth moved right fielder Jason Heyward to second and provided the answer to the Cubs' run in the top of the inning. But shortstop Starlin Castro came to reliever Pedro Strop's rescue by turning an impressive double play on pinch hitter Jon Jay's grounder up the middle.
"I just think this is who we are," manager Mike Matheny said. "They're just going to keep coming and regardless of what's happened in the recent games, it's just keep playing, just keep playing and one at-bat, one pitch at a time.
"It's a great philosophy, and it's going to be an entertaining team to watch if we just keep playing baseball like that."
Three of seven losses this season have come by just one run, and they still haven't lost by more than three. They also still own the best record in baseball, as well as 17 wins in the past 21 games heading into Thursday's series finale.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
