CHICAGO -- Yadier Molina trotted around the bases while his teammates celebrated in the dugout. Paul DeJong lost his voice because he was screaming so much.
It was one wild party for the St. Louis Cardinals -- again.
Molina and DeJong homered on Craig Kimbrel's first two pitches in the ninth inning, and the Cardinals handed the reeling Chicago Cubs their fifth consecutive loss with a 9-8 victory on Saturday.
"We don't give up," Molina said. "Today was a perfect example, we're never going to give up."
Marcell Ozuna also connected as the NL Central-leading Cardinals (88-67) won for the fifth time in six games. Dexter Fowler had two hits and two RBI, and Paul Goldschmidt also drove in two runs.
Chicago (82-73) used pinch-hit home runs by Ian Happ and Tony Kemp and a solo drive by rookie Nico Hoerner to carry an 8-7 lead into the ninth. It looked as if it was on its way to stopping a costly slide that pushed it out of playoff position.
But Kimbrel (0-4) was hit hard again in his first appearance since he gave up Matt Carpenter's 10th-inning home run in the Cubs' 5-4 loss Thursday night. Then Milwaukee closed out a 10-1 victory over Pittsburgh to increase its advantage over Chicago for the second NL wild card to three games.
"It's really a difficult loss based on all the good things we did today," Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said.
Molina jumped on Kimbrel's elevated fastball for his ninth home run, touching off a rollicking celebration on the Cardinals' side of the field. Kimbrel looked stunned as the ball soared into the bleachers in left-center.
DeJong then belted an even deeper drive for his 28th home run, completing the Cardinals' seventh set of back-to-back shots this year.
"Yadi did a great job by hitting a tough pitch and I was ready for another fastball and I got it," he said.
Signed in early June, Kimbrel has allowed a career-high 9 home runs in only 20 2/3 innings this year, and blown 3 of 16 save chances. He permitted seven home runs last season in 62 1/3 innings with Boston.
"First and second pitch of the inning, felt like I made two competitive pitches that I wanted to, and they went out," he said. "It's just frustrating. I mean that's the only thing I can say."
John Gant (11-1) got the last out of the eighth for the victory, and Carlos Martinez finished for his 23rd save. It's the first three-game win streak for St. Louis at Wrigley Field since June 20-22, 2016.
Kris Bryant led off the Chicago ninth with a walk before Martinez retired three in a row while pitching for the fourth consecutive day. Maddon sent Javier Baez up to hit for Kimbrel with two out, but the All-Star slugger struck out swinging on three pitches in his first plate appearance since he broke his left thumb.
"That's what this team does," Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt said. "It cares and it fights."
Ozuna's two-run shot off Kyle Ryan gave St. Louis a 7-6 lead in the top half of the seventh, but Chicago rallied in the bottom half.
Pinch-hitting with Ben Zobrist on second after a one-out double, Kemp swung and missed at strike three, but Giovanny Gallegos was called for a balk. Given a second chance, Kemp hit a drive that drifted over the wall in center on a breezy afternoon.
The crowd of 40,071 roared as Kemp circled the bases with his first home run since he was acquired in a July 31 trade with Houston.
The Cubs have dropped four consecutive games by one run for the first time since April 23-26, 1972, according to STATS. They have lost five in a row at home for the first time since they dropped seven consecutive at Wrigley in August 2013.
Clocking in at 4 hours, 24 minutes, it was the longest nine-inning game in Cubs franchise history.
REDS 3, METS 2 Pinch-hitter Christian Colon's two-out single off Seth Lugo broke an eighth-inning tie, lifting host Cincinnati over New York and dealing the Mets a critical defeat in the NL wild card race.
NATIONALS 10, MARLINS 4 (10) Brian Dozier hit a go-ahead RBI single during the Nationals' six-run 10th inning, and visiting Washington beat Miami.
BREWERS 10, PIRATES 1 Rookies Keston Hiura and Trent Grisham each hit two-run home runs and host Milwaukee increased its edge for the second NL wild-card spot, beating Pittsburgh.
BRAVES 8, GIANTS 1 Max Fried threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, Francisco Cervilli and Adam Duvall hit two-run home runs and Atlanta rolled over visiting San Francisco.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, PADRES 2 Rod Barajas lost his debut as host San Diego's interim manager, falling to Arizona.
ROCKIES 4, DODGERS 2 Ryan McMahon and Josh Fuentes hit solo home runs, and visiting Colorado defeated Los Angeles.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 7, BLUE JAYS 2 Giancarlo Stanton launched his first home run since missing nearly three months to injury, James Paxton won his 10th consecutive start and host New York beat Toronto.
RAYS 5, RED SOX 4 (11) Nate Lowe hit a two-run home run in the 11th and Tampa Bay beat visiting Boston to move one game ahead of Cleveland for the second AL wild card.
WHITE SOX 5, TIGERS 3 Tim Anderson homered in a three-run fifth inning, and Chicago went on to a victory over host Detroit.
MARINERS 7, ORIOLES 6 (13) Mallex Smith scored from second base in the 13th inning after Tim Lopes beat out an infield grounder, and visiting Seattle outlasted Baltimore.
ROYALS 12, TWINS 5 The Royals tagged Twins closer Taylor Rogers during a seven-run ninth inning and host Minnesota fell to Kansas City.
ANGELS 8, ASTROS 4 Houston remained just shy of its third consecutive AL West title, wasting a chance to clinch when Wade Miley was hit hard in a loss to visiting Los Angeles.
ATHLETICS 12, RANGERS 3 Marcus Semien hit his 32nd home run and reached base six times, and host Oakland routed Texas to maintain its two-game lead in the AL wild card race.
INTERLEAGUE
PHILLIES 9, INDIANS 4 Bryce Harper connected for a three-run home run and visiting Philadelphia avoided sliding any deeper in the NL wild-card standings with a victory over Cleveland.
Saturday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 9, Chicago Cubs 8
Cincinnati 3, NY Mets 2
Atlanta 8, San Francisco 1
Milwaukee 10, Pittsburgh 1
Washington 10, Miami 4 (10)
Arizona 4, San Diego 2
Colorado 4, L.A. Dodgers 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
NY Yankees 7, Toronto 2
Oakland 12, Texas 3
Chicago White Sox 5, Detroit 3
Tampa Bay 5, Boston 4 (11)
LA Angels 8, Houston 4
Kansas City 12, Minnesota 5
Seattle 7, Baltimore 6 (13)
INTERLEAGUE
Philadelphia 9, Cleveland 4
Sports on 09/22/2019