Pitcher John Lackey drove in a run for the third time in his career and struck out 10 in seven and two-thirds innings, helping the host St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-1, on Thursday for their ninth win in 10 games.
Jason Heyward singled three times with an R.B.I., and Peter Bourjos hit a run-scoring triple for the Cardinals, the National League Central leaders, who took three of four from the second-place Cubs.
Lackey had been 6 for 67 at the plate in 13 major league seasons before his two-out, opposite-field double to right in the fourth, driving in Heyward from second base.