Cody Bellinger helps Cubs squeak by Cardinals

Cody Bellinger delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning and had four RBIs as the Chicago Cubs overcame four different deficits to beat the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 on Saturday.

The Cubs trailed 6-5 against St. Louis reliever Zack Thompson (2-3), who loaded the bases in the sixth. Bellinger then plated two with his single to right field. Chicago added another run in the inning on Seiya Suzuki's RBI single, and it held on for a second straight win over the Cardinals.

Suzuki and Nico Hoerner each had three hits and Dansby Swanson returned from the injured list to go 2-for-4 with one RBI. Bellinger, meanwhile, is batting .440 with six homers and 19 RBIs in his last 24 games.

Chicago went with reliever Michael Fulmer as the opener, and St. Louis' Lars Nootbaar sent the game's first pitch into the left field bleachers. Nootbaar had three hits and Nolan Gorman also homered for the Cardinals, who took the opener of this four-game set but are winless following a six-game winning streak.

The Cubs tied it 1-1 in the second on Christopher Morel's run-scoring single. But in the third, Nootbaar greeted Drew Smyly with a double and scored on a single by Paul Goldschmidt, who eventually came home via Willson Contreras' sacrifice fly for a 3-1 St. Louis lead.

Chicago leveled it in their half of the third. St. Louis right fielder Jordan Walker couldn't grab a liner from Hoerner, who advanced to second on Ian Happ's single and scored on Bellinger's single. Happ later scored on a base hit from Swanson to make it 3-3.

Gorman put St. Louis back ahead with his two-out solo homer in the fifth. The Cardinals made it 5-3 later in the frame thanks to an RBI double by Contreras, who later exited with right hip tightness.

The Cubs tied it again in the fifth after Hoerner and Happ each doubled off Miles Mikolas. Hoerner scored on Bellinger's groundout and Happ came home on a single from Suzuki.

Mikolas allowed five runs and 11 hits through five innings but was in line for the win after Nootbaar scored on a sixth-inning wild pitch from Daniel Palencia (2-0).

The game was twice delayed by rain.