Cubs walk off with win vs. Cards

JOE MATHER'S two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 comeback win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

St. Louis closer Jason Motte (1-1) had the Cubs down to their final strike when Mather, a former Cardinal, grounded a 2-2 slider up the middle, scoring Bryan LaHair and Geovany Soto.

LaHair battled Motte for 12 pitches before drawing a one-out walk. Motte then walked Soto, before Steve Clevenger's grounder moved the runners up to set the plate for Mather.

Rafael Dolis (1-1) picked up the win in relief.

The Cubs improved to 4-7 at Wrigley Field and won for just the second time the eight games. Chicago's 4-13 mark is its worst start since it began the 1997 season 2-15.

In Cardinals news, an MRI on outfielder Jon Jay's right shoulder revealed no structural damage. Jay crashed into a fence on Thursday.

At New York, Madison Bumgarner (3-1) pitched seven neat innings, Pablo Sandoval homered to match a team mark set by Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets, 7-2, for a doubleheader sweep.

The Giants took the opener, 6-1, as Tim Lincecum posted his first win of the season.

Sandoval's three-run homer in the first inning gave him a 16-game hitting streak, tying the San Francisco record at the start of a season set by Mays in 1960, STATS LLC said.

* At Milwaukee, Ryan Braun broke out of his 2-for-20 slump with a homer and three hits, Zack Greinke (2-1) remained unbeaten at Miller Park (13-0) and the Brewers held off Houston, 6-5.

* At Pittsburgh, Colorado's game against the Pirates was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Wednesday. The Rockies' Jamie Moyer (1-2, 2.55 ERA) will have a chance to reset his new record as the oldest pitcher to win a major league game.

There might never be a written decision explaining why Ryan Braun's drug suspension was overturned. The arbitrator who threw out the 50-game suspension of the NL MVP has been asked by the players union and management to hold off giving his reasoning while they negotiate changes to their rules for collecting specimens, people familiar with the case told the Associated Press.

If players and owners reach agreement on the changes, the Feb. 23 decision by arbitrator Shyam Das to overturn the penalty for the Milwaukee outfielder could be allowed to stand without any written explanation, the sources said.