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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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NEW YORK -- Matt Garza put the Chicago Cubs in position to win Sunday. His bullpen just didn't cooperate.

"Another strong outing from our starter is wasted again," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said after his bullpen collapsed in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets. "Garza was really good. That fastball command today, down and away, I think he had a really good slider as well."

Garza had his best outing of the season as he threw seven shutout innings of three-hit ball while recording a no-decision. Garza's strong effort followed perhaps the worst outing of his career, a five-inning, nine-run debacle against the Cincinnati Reds.

"I felt pretty good about [the start]," Garza said. "My stuff and my location wasn't really there all the time but found a way to get through some jams. Just felt comfortable and felt like I had a little bit of rhythm."

Garza worked efficiently against a weak Mets lineup, keeping New York from getting anything going for most of the game. In the sixth inning, when the Mets put the first two on, Garza retired the middle of the order in succession to keep the Cubs ahead 3-0.

With the trade deadline now coming into view, Garza recognizes he's going to be a hot topic once again.

"I've been probably in trade talks throughout my entire career," Garza said. "It's nothing new. I get ready for the next five and do my part. Everything will take care of itself."

Big change: Leaving New York on a loss instead of a four-game winning streak had Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano frustrated.

"We have like 99 [percent] chance to win, the whole game we're winning, and it's very tough. In the last inning, with just less than three outs left to win the game, and we lost. It's unacceptable," Soriano said. "It's hard to take, hard to swallow."

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NEW YORK -- What once came so easy to Carlos Marmol now continues to be a nightmare for the Chicago Cubs reliever.

"This year, all the other innings, he's done a pretty good job," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He's having trouble with those last three outs."

Marmol imploded in the ninth inning on Sunday as he allowed four runs in the New York Mets' 4-3 win over the Cubs. Equipped with a 3-0 lead in the ninth, and attempting to pitch the Cubs to a sweep, Marmol gave up two homers, including a walk-off three-run shot to the light-hitting Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

"It's tough. It's tough for anybody," Marmol said. "You don't save (it), you lost the game. It's tough."

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NEW YORK -- The Chicago Cubs were three outs from a sweep.

Then Carlos Marmol entered.

Marmol gave up four runs in the ninth and the Cubs fell 4-3 to the New York Mets on Sunday at Citi Field. The Cubs led 3-0 entering the frame.

How it happened: Marmol gave up two homers, a walk and a single. The only out he recorded came on a sacrifice bunt. Marmol yielded a walk-off three-run homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The other homer was a solo shot by Marlon Byrd.

What it means: Instead of winning four straight and sweeping the Mets, the Cubs instead suffered a heartbreaking loss. Matt Garza pitched excellent, giving up no runs over seven innings, but Marmol couldn't hold up his end.

Outside the box: The Mets surely are going to be in SportsCenter's "Not Top 10" this week after making three errant throws in a span of about 15 seconds. With the Cubs ahead 1-0 in the fifth with two men on and two outs, Alfonso Soriano hit a sharp grounder to third and Mets third baseman David Wright dived to his left to snag the ball.His throw to first went high and wide of the base, and Starlin Castro headed home as Daniel Murphy retrieved the ball. Murphy made a quick turn and throw toward the plate, only for his throw to go wide as Castro scored. Nate Schierholtz then headed home while Omar Quintanilla recovered the ball, and Schierholtz scored easily as Quintanilla threw wide of catcher John Buck. Soriano ended up at third. The Mets were credited with two errors.

Up next: The Cubs will try to rebound against St. Louis as they begin a four-game series at Busch Stadium on Monday. Travis Wood (5-5, 2.65 ERA) faces Shelby Miller (7-4, 2.21) at 6:05 p.m. CT.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Cubs starter Edwin Jackson knows firsthand the dangers of being hit in the head by a line drive, as he was struck in 2006 while with Tampa Bay.

After Rays starter Alex Cobb took a liner off the head Saturday, suffering a mild concussion, Jackson acknowledged those type of plays can be difficult to avoid.

"Sometimes there isn't so much you can do. You see a lot of times the catches people make, they throw the glove up there. It's just one of those unfortunate parts of the game," Jackson said on Sunday. "Sometimes balls come back at you. Sometimes you can get out of the way, sometimes you can't. I don't really play the game thinking about it. I know it can happen just as easy as someone can throw a ball and hit a batter in the head. It's one of those unfortunate things."

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NEW YORK -- Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum wasn’t cringing because Scott Feldman decided to slide head-first into third base.

“Actually in his case, we’re probably better off that he head-first dives because of [his] knee,” Sveum said after Feldman carried the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon with his arm, bat and legs.

“I was cringing because why are you going to third? You’re a starting pitcher, and you’ve got a bad knee. That’s what I was thinking as he was running to third.”

Feldman (6-5, 3.05 ERA) ended up picking up the win after allowing just one run on two hits over seven innings. He also delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in the fourth that staked the Cubs to a 2-0 lead, then proceeded to go from first to third on Darwin Barney’s base knock.

It was anything but graceful, though it worked.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, actually,” Feldman, who thinks the last time he slid head-first was back in college, said. “I just kinda decided to go, I guess, and then I realized it was gonna be a close play. You don’t want to make the third out at third, so I just tried to [do] everything I could to sneak my hand in there.”

Feldman now has eight RBIs this season -- four of them against the Mets.

With David DeJesus on the disabled list, the Cubs are short on the bench, and Sveum mentioned that he could possibly use Feldman as a pinch hitter.

“Ha. I don’t know. I think I might be fourth or fifth on the depth chart with that, but maybe pinch runner,” Feldman said.

Feldman surrendered back-to-back doubles to Daniel Murphy and David Wright to start the fourth before retiring the final 12 batters he faced. He did face a scare with two outs in the sixth when Wright drilled a ball to deep left, but Alfonso Soriano jumped at the wall to make the catch.

“The one that David Wright hit, the minute that I let it go I was wishing I could have it back, and I thought he’d tied the game right there,” Feldman said. “I was talking with [former Met Scott] Hairston, and he was saying the wind was blowing slightly in, so that was what saved me right there.”

Feldman, who signed a one-year, $6 million contract in the offseason, understands that his name is going to come up in trade rumors prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. But, while he understands it’s part of the business, he made it clear that he wants to stay in Chicago.

“Absolutely. Yeah. I’d love to [stay here],” Feldman said. “That kinda stuff always happens this time of year with a number of players, and I’ve never really been in that position before, but I hope we can get hot and get back in this thing a little bit and then it’ll be harder to trade away some of the guys. But either way I love it in Chicago, and I’m happy to put a Cubs uniform on.”