s also advanced to the semifinals, defeating Gilles Muller of Luxem

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo finished celebrating, retreated to the clubhouse and reminded his Chicago Cubs teammates that theyve now won games in their last at-bat on a wild pitch, a squeeze bunt and a bases-loaded walk.Its been that kind of season.Rizzo drew a walk from Zach Duke with two outs in the 11th inning and the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday night for their 10th consecutive win.Its one of those things where its going our way, Rizzo said. We just want it to keep going our way.Not only did the Cubs open a 13-game lead over the second-place Cardinals in the NL Central, St. Louis lost slugger Matt Holliday to a broken right thumb after he was hit by a pitch in the 10th inning.Holliday wasnt sure if hell miss the rest of the season. Hes to see a hand specialist Friday.For sure its super disappointing but its part of sport unfortunately, Holliday said.Pinch-hitters Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler led off with singles against the lefty Duke (2-1) and Dexter Fowler walked to load the bases with one out. Kris Bryant struck out before Rizzo took a 3-1 pitch inside to give the Cubs their longest winning streak since getting 12 straight in 2001.Crazy stuff, manager Joe Maddon said. Entertaining? Yes.Mike Montgomery (4-5) allowed a single and two walks to load the bases in the 11th before striking out Matt Carpenter to end the threat. Montgomery, who won his first game with Chicago after being acquired from Seattle last month, also hit Holliday with a 94 mph fastball on a 1-1 count with nobody on and two out an inning earlier.I definitely feel for him, Montgomery said. It wasnt on purpose. Its just one of those pitches thats a big part of the game, going inside, and it just got away.Randal Grichuk, called up from the minors before the game, tied it for St. Louis with a pinch-hit solo home run off Travis Wood in the seventh. Brandon Moss also homered for St. Louis.Chris Coghlan had a two-run single and David Ross an RBI bunt single in the sixth for the Cubs.Both managers used their closers in the ninth. Chicagos Aroldis Chapman needed three pitches to get two liners to third and a groundout, while Seung Hwan Oh struck out the side for St. Louis. Oh then worked out of a 10th-inning jam.The Cubs wasted three good opportunities to score before capitalizing in odd fashion, as has been their signature.After Coghlans two-out two-run single off Carlos Martinez tied it at 2, the 39-year-old Ross bunted an 0-1 curveball between the mound and third base. Martinez elected to throw to first, and it drew Carpenter off the bag as Jason Heyward scored to put Chicago ahead.Coghlan also teamed with Addison Russell to throw out Carpenter at the plate from left field on Stephen Piscottys double to end the seventh.Cubs lefty Jon Lester allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts in six innings but lost a chance at his 13th win when Grichuk sent a 1-0 cutter into the left-field bleachers.Moss hit his first homer off a lefty this season in the sixth to put the Cardinals up 2-0. Yadier Molina added three hits, including an RBI single in the first to extend his on-base streak to 24 games.Martinez allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings. He hurt himself when he cut off a throw home that seemingly had a chance to get Rizzo on Chicagos second run.The Cubs would have turned to starting pitcher John Lackey if the game had gone to the 12th. He was also in the bullpen when Lester beat Seattle with a 12th-inning squeeze bunt on July 31 that started the winning streak.Its just a sign of a good team, Lester said. The close game we grind out.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: A day after being scratched, 1B Matt Adams (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Grichuk was recalled from Triple-A Memphis.Cubs: Pedro Strop (knee surgery) will be out four to six weeks and Hector Rondon (triceps) was unavailable. Rondon played catch and is scheduled for a bullpen session Friday.UP NEXTCubs RHP Jake Arrieta (13-5, 2.59 ERA) faces RHP Adam Wainwright (9-6, 4.34) on Friday afternoon. Atlanta Braves Shirts . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Braves Jerseys China . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. https://www.cheapbraves.com/73o-ronald-acuna-jr-jersey-braves.html . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Ronald Acuna Jr. Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Stitched Braves Jerseys . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. TOKYO -- Marin Cilic and David Goffin advanced to the semifinals of the Japan Open on Friday, and they will play each other for a spot in the final.The fifth-seeded Goffin rallied to beat Joao Sousa 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, while the fourth-seeded Cilic beat injury-plagued Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-1.Goffin beat Cilic in Indian Wells early this year, and then again in a Davis Cup match for Belgium against Croatia. Those are their only two career meetings.That was when I played my best tennis this year, Goffin said. I can play fast against him and he doesnt like that, because hes a big guy and he doesnt like to run. If Im returning well, he struggles a bit.Nick Kyrgios also advanced to the semifinals, defeating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-2. He will next face second-seeded Gael Monfils. The Frenchman beat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6).Cilic took an early lead against Monaco in the first set, but then let the Argeentine back into the match.dddddddddddd Monaco, who has been troubled by various injuries this season, became reluctant to chase down balls in the second set, allowing Cilic to advance.I felt today I was a bit up and down with my serve and I have to get that right from the start tomorrow, Cilic said, looking ahead to Saturdays match against Goffin. Hes extremely quick around the court, plays very close to the baseline and pushes players back. Its going to be important for me to serve well and get some free points.Karlovic took every set he played at this weeks tournament to a tiebreaker, including both sets against Monfils on Friday.Its always difficult to play Ivo, there arent that many opportunities, Monfils said. A bit like today, Im going to have to be patient tomorrow. ' ' '