Sunday afternoon’s game at Wrigley Field proved how deep & talented the Chicago Cubs really are, as their lineup full of backups & minor-leaguers provided 5 extra-base hits during their 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals started an immediate rally in the top of the 1st inning after Skip Schumaker hit a lead-off single against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster.

Ryan Ludwick then doubled to put runners at 2nd & 3rd with nobody out for Albert Pujols.

Pujols then hit a sac fly to Felix Pie in centerfield, which scored Schumaker from 3rd base & gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

With Ludwick on 3rd base & just 1 out, Felipe Lopez popped out to Ronny Cedeno at shortstop before Troy Glaus flied out to Mike Fontenot in foul territory down the rightfield line to end the inning.

The Cubs then put together a scoring rally in the bottom of the 1st inning before Kosuke Fukudome hit a lead-off double against Cardinals starter Braden Looper.

Ronny Cedeno & Micah Hoffpauir then struck out before Daryle Ward hit a grounder to Felipe Lopez at 2nd base to end the scoring threat.

Chicago then gave themselves another chance in the bottom of the 3rd inning after Kosuke Fukudome & Ronny Cedenot hit back-to-back 1-out singls off Looper, which put runners at 1st & 3rd for Micah Hoffpauir.

Hoffpauir then reached on a fielder’s choice, which scored Fukudome from 3rd base & tied the game 1-1.

Daryle Ward then struck out looking before Mike Fontenot singled to right field, but Ryan Ludwick gunned down Ronny Cedeno at home plate to end the inning.

Chicago then took the lead in the bottom of the 4th inning after Felix Pie hit a lead-off triple againt Looper.

Casey McGehee then hit a sac fly to Skip Schumaker in centerfield, which scored Pie from 3rd base on a close play at home plate to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinals then had a chance to tie the game in the top of the 5th inning after Cesar Izturis hit a 2-out single off Dempster & stole 2nd base during Ryan Ludwick’s at-bat.

Ludwick then singled to Kosuke Fukudome in right field, who fired a strike to Koyie Hill at home plate to nail Izturis which ended the scoring threat.

The Cubs then added onto their lead in the bottom of the 6th inning after Mike Fontenot drew a lead-off walk from Looper.

Felix Pie then singled, which put runners at 1st & 3rd with nobody out for Casey McGehee.

McGehee then hit an RBI single to centerfield, which scored Fontenot from 3rd base & gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Koyie Hill then laid down a successful sac bunt, which advanced Pie & McGehee to 2nd & 3rd base with just 1 out for pinch-hitter Jim Edmonds.

Edmonds then hit a sac fly to left field, which scored Pie from 3rd base & gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead.

McGehee then was able to advance to 3rd base on a wild pitch from Looper during Kosuke Fukudome’s at-bat, who grounded out to Albert Pujols at 1st base to end the inning.

The Cardinals then tried to rally in the top of the 7th inning after Troy Glaus drew a lead-off walk from Cubs reliever Chad Gaudin.

2 batters later, Jason LaRue walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with just 1 out for pinch-hitter Aaron Miles.

Miles then flied out to Felix Pie in centerfield before Cesar Izturis grounded out to Mike Fontenot at 2nd base to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs then once again started another scoring rally in the bottom of the 7th inning after Ronny Cedeno hit a lead-off double agianst Cardinals reliever Kyle McClellan.

Micah Hoffpauir then walked, which put runners at 1st & 2nd with nobody out for Daryle Ward.

Ward then hit into a doubleplay, which advanced Cedeno to 3rd base with 2 outs.

Cedeno then scored from 3rd base on a wild pitch from McClellan during Mike Fontenot’s at-bat, who fouled out to Albert Pujols at 1st base to end the inning.

The Cardinals then tried to push for one last rally in the top of the 9th inning after Felipe Lopez hit a lead-off double against Cubs reliever Bob Howry.

Howry then got Josh Phelps to line out to Micah Hoffpauir in left field & Nick Stavinoha to ground out to Casey McGehee at 3rd base before striking out pinch-hitter Adam Kennedy to end the game.

Ryan Dempster (17-6) gets his team leading 17th win for the Cubs after pitching 5 innings & allowed just 1 run on 6 hits.

Braden Looper (12-14) takes the loss for the Cardinals after allowing 4 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings of work.

The Cubs will now head east for their final regular-season trip at Shea Stadium to face the New York Mets beginning Monday evening at 6:10 PM cst.

The Mets are very much still alive in the playoff hunt, as they trail the Phillies by just 1 game for the NL East lead & have a 1.5 game lead over Milwaukee for the NL Wild Card lead.

Cubs right hander Jason Marquis (10-9, 4.39) will start the opener & will be opposed by Mets southpaw Jonathon Niese (1-0, 4.09).

The Cubs have won each of Marquis’ last 3 road starts dating back to August 13th at Atlanta, while Marquis is 6-3 in 12 starts away from Wrigley this season with a 3.05 ERA.

Niese will make just the 3rd start of his Major League career on Monday. His debut was a short one, as he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in just 3 innings of work on September 2nd during a 6-5 loss to Milwaukee.

Niese then rebounded on September 13th with 8 innings of shutout ball to earn his 1st major league win against Atlanta.

With a Cubs win on Monday evening, they will wrap up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Signing off for now,