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ST. LOUIS -- The loss went to Edwin Jackson on Wednesday night, but an assist could easily go to the Chicago Cubs' offense.

The Cubs managed only two singles against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook and two relievers, and scored their only run, unearned, in part because of two Cardinals errors.

"We scored one unearned run and got two hits," manager Dale Sveum said. "Jackson was basically going to have to pitch a shutout with that."

The only hits were a one-out single in the second by Anthony Rizzo, back in the lineup after his first day off of the year, and a leadoff single by Luis Valbuena in the third, who was thrown out trying to steal second.

Rizzo scored the Cubs' only run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Darwin Barney after a throwing error by Matt Carpenter cost the Cardinals a potential double play. An error by Yadier Molina on the throw home on the sacrifice fly allowed both runners to advance, but Jackson grounded out to end what would turn out to be the Cubs' only threat.

After Valbuena’s hit, the Cubs had only four more baserunners in the game, on three walks and a hit batter, but two of those were erased in double plays. Of the 21 outs in Westbrook's seven innings, 15 came on ground balls.

Nate Schierholtz was 0-for-3, bringing an end to his career-best 10-game hitting streak.

Starlin Castro was 0-for-4, is now 1-for-12 in this series against the Cardinals and just 4-of-26 in the first six games of the current trip, a .154 average. His season average has dropped to .235, the lowest it has been since April 6.

ST. LOUIS -- Edwin Jackson threw the pitch he wanted, and where he wanted -- down and in -- hoping Yadier Molina would hit it on the ground and one of his infielders could turn an inning-ending double play.

It didn't work out that way, and the result was another loss for Jackson and the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

Molina hit Jackson's 1-and-2 pitch into the seats in left field for a two-run homer, breaking a 1-all tie and sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 victory.

"I thought it was a pretty good pitch, but either he was looking for it or he guessed right or it was right in his zone. Either way, he hit it for a home run," Jackson said. "I threw my pitch with conviction. It was the pitch I wanted to throw. Sometimes it happens in the game."

Until that point, Jackson was working on his third consecutive quality start, having given up only the one run and five hits. But the end result was another loss, dropping his record to 3-9, the second-most losses by a pitcher in the National League. Cole Hamels of the Phillies has 10.

"I didn't second-guess the pitch, even after the home run," Jackson said. "He hit the pitch I wanted to throw. That pretty much summed up the game."

Jackson and Molina were teammates for the final two months of the 2011 season, but Jackson said he did not believe that relationship gave Molina an advantage in their personal matchup. He had retired the Cardinals' catcher in his first two at-bats of the game.

"A lot of people know me," said Jackson, who has played for seven other major league teams. "It doesn't mean they know exactly what pitch you are going to throw and when you are going to throw it. I don't put too much thought in it. They can say I know him, too. Tonight it was just a tough loss. He won the battle."

It was the third career home run Molina has hit off Jackson and it continued his red-hot series. Even though the Cubs got him out three times in this game, he found a way to beat them with the home run, is now 6-for-11 in the three games and has driven in five of the Cardinals' 11 runs in the series.

"He was right in the middle of it again," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said of Molina. "He's on fire. He is really good. Other than that one pitch, Jackson did not give up a lot of hard contact. It was a good outing up until then."

ST. LOUIS – Manager Dale Sveum and the Cubs had to watch Yadier Molina burn them again Wednesday night as the St. Louis catcher launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to spark the Cardinals to a 4-1 victory.

How it happened: Chicago starter Edwin Jackson retired Molina in his first two at-bats, but could not get him a third time. With the game tied at 1, Matt Holliday led off the sixth with a single and after he was forced at second on a grounder by Allen Craig, Molina hit a 1-2 pitch into the left-field seats for his fifth homer of the year. It was his third career homer off Jackson in 15 at-bats, equaling the most he has hit against any pitcher.

The Cubs offense did not offer much help to Jackson, being limited to two hits by Cardinal starter Jake Westbrook through seven innings, a one-out single by Anthony Rizzo in the second and a leadoff single by Luis Valbuena in the third. They scored their only run, unearned, in the second in part because of two St. Louis errors. Westbrook recorded 15 of his 21 outs on groundballs.

What it means: The loss dropped Jackson's record to 3-9. The only pitcher in the NL with more losses is the Phillies' Cole Hamels with 10. Jackson had delivered quality starts in his last two outings, working a total of 13 innings against the Pirates and Mets and allowing only two earned runs, and was was working on a third in a row -- having allowed only one run and four singles before running into his sixth inning trouble.

Outside the box: With the Astros signing right-handed pitcher Mark Appel to a contract on Wednesday, the Cubs' top pick, third baseman Kris Bryant, (the number two overall choice) is the only one of the top five players picked in the draft who has not signed. Twenty-four of the 33 first-round draft picks have agreed to deals with their clubs. The deadline for clubs to sign their draft choices is July 12.

Up next: The Cubs and Cardinals will conclude the four-game series on Thursday night with Scott Feldman (6-5. 3.05 ERA) scheduled to start against Lance Lynn (9-1, 3.56 ERA).

ST. LOUIS -- It likely will not come as a surprise to Cubs manager Dale Sveum that Cardinals' catcher Yadier Molina got credited for a base hit on Wednesday -- for a game he played eight days earlier.

The NL's leading hitter, and a major nemesis for the Cubs, Molina got the extra hit when Major League Baseball reversed a ruling on a play from a June 11 game against the Mets that had originally been ruled an error.

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The Chicago Cubs signed Texas Tech right-handed pitcher Trey Masek, their fifth-round selection in the June draft and now have three of their top-10 picks under contract.

The 21-year-old Masek went 5-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 11 starts at Texas Tech. He was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and a Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year Semifinalist.

The Cubs have signed nine of their draft picks. Third baseman Kris Bryant, the No. 2 pick in the draft, remains unsigned.

Teams have until July 12 to sign their draft picks.

ST. LOUIS -- Manager Dale Sveum had no hesitation about sending pitcher Jeff Samardzija back to the mound to start the ninth inning for the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night.

Samardzija had nursed the Cubs’ four-run first-inning outburst through eight innings, allowing only five hits, including a solo homer by Carlos Beltran in the sixth for the lone St. Louis run.

“It’s the best-hitting team in baseball and he shut them down to a solo home run. He was as good as he has been all year, and when you can do that against that offense, you’ve had one heck of a game,” Sveum said.

“He wanted to finish and I gave him the chance, it didn’t work out. Those guys are good hitters. (Yadier) Molina is taking hitting to another level.”

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ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Sweeney did not remember facing Adam Wainwright before, probably because there was nothing memorable about his three at-bats in a game on June 19, 2010 when he was with the Oakland Athletics.

A flyout, groundout and groundout were the result of those at-bats, but Sweeney had forgotten about that three-year-old game when he came to bat in the first inning for the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night.

Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace, who was trying to become the first pitcher in the National League to reach 11 wins, had just allowed back-to-back two-out doubles to Nate Schierholtz and Alfonso Soriano, staking the Cubs to a quick lead.

Sweeney has faced enough good pitchers in his career to know that sometimes the first inning is when they are the most vulnerable.

“Schierholtz got that hit and that kind of started the inning,” Sweeney said. “Soriano came up with a huge hit too, and hitting is contagious. We just got on him early, and I was thankful that we did. A guy like that will bear down and then we can’t get any runs.”

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ST. LOUIS -- The Chicago Cubs hit two home runs in a game for the first time this month, scoring all the runs they needed to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2, Tuesday night.

How it happened: The Cubs jumped on St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright for four runs in the first inning, including both home runs. It was only the second time this season they have scored four times in the opening inning, the other coming April 14 versus the Giants. The onslaught came quickly, with Nate Schierholtz and Alfonso Soriano hitting back-to-back two-out doubles before Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ransom hit back-to-back homers. The four runs equaled the total number of runs Wainwright had allowed in the first inning in his 14 starts combined before Tuesday night.

The beneficiary of the offense was Jeff Samardzija, who raised his record to 4-7 by allowing only seven hits in 8 1/3 innings, including Carlos Beltran’s 17th homer of the year in the sixth. He struck out six, walked one and hit a batter. Samardzija left the game after giving up singles to Matt Holiday and Allen Craig. Kevin Gregg came in and allowed an RBI single to Yadier Molina, but then settled down for his 10th save.

What it means: The win broke the Cubs’ five-game losing streak in St. Louis that dated back to May 14 of last year. In their last four games at Busch Stadium, the Cubs had been a combined 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position, a total they exceeded in the span of two batters in the first inning Tuesday night. It was only the ninth win by the Cubs in 31 games against the NL Central this season. Wainwright, who leads the NL with 10 wins, has not defeated the Cubs since Sept. 24, 2010.

Outside the box: Ransom was in the Cubs lineup at first base in place of slumping Anthony Rizzo, who was given his first game off of the season. The move paid off when Ransom homered in the first to cap the big inning. It was Ransom’s eighth homer of the year, in 85 at-bats, and was his first off a right-handed pitcher. Ransom has now hit five homers and driven in 10 runs in his last eight starts.

Up next: Former Cardinal Edwin Jackson (3-8, 5.40 ERA) will start for the Cubs in the third game of the series Wednesday night. Jake Westbrook (2-2, 2.05 ERA) will start for St. Louis in the 7:15 p.m. game.

ST. LOUIS -- After watching Anthony Rizzo go 0-for-4 Monday night, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum decided Tuesday would be a good time to give the first baseman his first day off this season.

“It’s just time to let him kick back and get a breather,” Sveum said before Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rizzo has not been very productive lately for the Cubs. He suffered his third hitless game in a row in the series opener against the Cardinals, extending his current slump to 0-for-10 following a three-hit game last Friday in New York.

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The Chicago Cubs announced Tuesday the signing of left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny, their second-round draft pick earlier this month.

Selected with the 41st overall pick out of Missouri, Zastryzny is one of eight draft picks signed by the Cubs. The 21-year-old Zastryzny had a 2-9 record with a 3.38 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings as a junior at Missouri.

The Cubs have also signed right-handed pitcher Zachary Godley (10th round), catcher Cael Brockmeyer (16th round), shortstop Giuseppe Papaccio (18th round), second baseman Zak Blair (20th round), left fielder Kevin Brown (22nd round), left-handed pitcher Tyler Ihrig (23rd round) and right-handed pitcher Zak Hermans (30th round).

Third baseman Kris Bryant, the No. 2 pick in the draft, remains unsigned.

Teams have until July 12 to sign their draft picks.

ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine takes your Cubs and White Sox questions during a live chat at noon CT Tuesday. Click here to submit your questions.

ST. LOUIS -- Unfortunately both for himself and the Chicago Cubs, Travis Wood has been in this position before -- talking about a game in which he pitched well, but still came away with a loss.

“It wasn’t enough, really,” Wood said of his performance after a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Monday night.

Wood, whose record dropped to 5-6 despite a 2.74 ERA, registered his fourth consecutive quality start, only to see his record in those four games fall to 1-3.

“It’s tough for the team,” Wood said. “We’re scratching and clawing and trying to get everything we can right now. We’re trying to put together quality ballgames and falling a little short right now. We’re eventually going to get it together and string together some wins.”

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ST. LOUIS -- Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum received his third ejection of the season Monday night after arguing a close play at home plate in the seventh inning.

With the St. Louis Cardinals leading 2-0 and runners on second and third and one out, Pete Kozma hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Luis Valbuena, who knocked it down but threw late to first base. Anthony Rizzo then threw home as Yadier Molina broke for the plate, but the throw was wild.

Catcher Welington Castillo retrieved the ball and threw to pitcher Travis Wood, covering the plate, apparently in time to get the sliding Molina.

Umpire D.J. Reyburn, however, called Molina safe, bringing Sveum out of the dugout to protest the call.

“The throw definitely beat him,” said Sveum. “He (Reyburn) said he got it right.

“It was a big play in the game at that time. We had our best pitcher on the mound, he blocks the plate and gets there, it’s an out call. The ball beat him (Molina) by a lot. That’s what I saw on the replay.”

That play led to another run in the inning, and the Cardinals added another in the eighth for the 5-2 victory.

Wood said he had not seen a replay, but thought he tagged Molina before he reached the plate.

“My take was that he was out but he (Reyburn) has the overall say and he called him safe,” Wood said. “We’ve got to overcome that and get after the next batter and make the pitches.”

The ejection was the seventh for Sveum in his two seasons as the Cubs’ manager.

ST. LOUIS -- The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals waited out a rain delay of nearly two hours before finally playing Monday night, but the Chicago bats took most of the rest of the night off as well in a 5-2 loss.

How it happened: The Cubs managed only two hits in the first five innings against Cardinals’ starter Shelby Miller -- a single by Luis Valbuena with one out in the third and a leadoff single by Welington Castillo in the fifth, both of whom were stranded at first base. Miller left the game after that inning because of cramping in his right leg.

The Cubs didn’t get another hit until the eighth, when Starlin Castro and Nate Schierholtz both singled off reliever Trevor Rosenthal, with Schierholtz’s hit driving in Valbuena, who had walked, with Chicago’s first run of the night.

The Cardinals scored twice against starter Travis Wood in the span of four batters in the fourth. Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday singled, and one out later, Yadier Molina lined a two-run double to the wall in right center. They added two more runs in the seventh, the first coming on a throwing error by first baseman Anthony Rizzo to the plate, a play which got manager Dale Sveum ejected for arguing the call, and their final run in the eighth.

Darwin Barney hit his third homer of the season with two outs in the top of the ninth.

What it means: The loss dropped the Cubs’ record to 28-40 and back into a tie with the idle Milwaukee Brewers for last place in the NL Central. It is the 38th day this season the Cubs have been last or tied for last, compared to 35 days when they have been out of last place. The loss also dropped their record against division opponents to 8-22, even though they have only played three games (1-2) against the division-leading Cardinals.

Outside the box: Despite the fact Wood had a 3-2 career record against the Cardinals in seven starts, he had not exactly fooled many of their hitters. Of the top seven hitters in the St. Louis starting lineup, the only one with a career batting average under .300 against Wood coming into the game was Molina, at .294, and he happened to come into the game as the NL’s leading hitter, with a .352 average.

Up next: The Cubs and Cardinals will meet in the second game of the four-game series on Tuesday night. Jeff Samardzija (3-7, 3.46 ERA) will pitch against Adam Wainwright (10-3, 2.18 ERA) in the 7:05 p.m. game.

ST. LOUIS -- What to do with Carlos Marmol?

Much of the discussion before Monday's rain-delayed game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals concerned reliever Carlos Marmol, whose blown save cost the Cubs a win in New York on Sunday.

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