CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs overcame a three-run deficit in the sixth inning and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, avoiding a sweep in front of 38,322 fans.

The game took 2 hours, 41 minutes.

St. Louis took a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth on a three-run home run by Jordan Walker, his 20th of the season. But the Cubs answered with four runs in the bottom half, capitalizing on two Cardinals errors.

Carson Kelly walked and Michael Busch singled, putting runners on the corners. Nico Hoerner lined a single to right, scoring Kelly to make it 4-3. After Ian Happ popped out, Dansby Swanson reached on a fielder’s choice, and a throwing error by third baseman José Fermín allowed Busch to score, tying the game 4-4. Swanson advanced to second on the error.

Pedro Ramírez then hit a sacrifice fly to right fielder Jordan Walker, whose throwing error allowed both Hoerner and Swanson to score, giving the Cubs a 6-4 lead.

The Cubs had taken an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled on a soft ground ball, Alex Bregman doubled to center field to drive in Crow-Armstrong, and after a strikeout and a walk, Busch was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hoerner followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Bregman. Ian Happ was then hit by a pitch, but Swanson grounded into a forceout to end the inning.

St. Louis mounted a threat in the second inning but could not score. Jordan Walker walked, Lars Nootbaar flied out, Masyn Winn singled, Nathan Church singled, and José Fermín walked to load the bases, but Bryan Torres popped out.

The Cubs had a chance in the fourth when Swanson singled, but Kevin Alcántara grounded into a double play.

The game turned dramatically in the sixth. The Cardinals began their half with Wetherholt singling to center. Iván Herrera struck out on a foul tip, but Alec Burleson singled to right, putting runners on first and second. Walker then drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-center field wall, scoring Wetherholt and Burleson for a 4-2 St. Louis lead.

But the Cubs answered immediately.

After Kelly walked and Busch singled, the Cubs’ rally was aided by two defensive miscues. Fermín’s throwing error on Swanson’s grounder allowed Busch to score, and after Ramírez’s sacrifice fly, Walker’s throwing error allowed two more runs to cross.

Crow-Armstrong followed with a single, but Alex Bregman struck out looking after a challenge confirmed the call, ending the inning.

St. Louis attempted a comeback in the top of the eighth. Wetherholt singled, Herrera grounded out to move him to second, and Burleson singled to right, sending Wetherholt to third. Walker then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Wetherholt to cut the deficit to 6-5. Nootbaar grounded out to end the threat.

Cubs reliever Jacob Webb entered in the eighth and retired the side in order, striking out Crow-Armstrong to end the bottom half. In the ninth, Webb allowed a leadoff walk to Masyn Winn but then got Nathan Church to pop out, struck out Fermín, and induced a lineout from Nelson Velázquez to shortstop Swanson to secure the save.

Drew Pomeranz earned the win, his first of the season against three losses. He pitched one scoreless inning in relief. Tyler Ferguson, who allowed a solo homer to Walker, and Ryan Rolison, who allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning, also appeared for the Cubs. Matthew Liberatore took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in five-plus innings, falling to 4-6.

Both teams finished with seven hits. For the Cubs, Crow-Armstrong had two hits and scored once. Bregman drove in a run. For the Cardinals, Walker drove in four runs with his home run and sacrifice fly, and Wetherholt had two hits and scored twice.

The victory evened the Cubs’ record at 50-40. The Cardinals fell to 47-40. St. Louis had won the first two games of the series, 3-0 on Saturday and 17-1 on Friday, before the Cubs avoided the sweep Sunday.

The Cardinals return to St. Louis to host the Milwaukee Brewers in a five-game series starting Monday. The Cubs travel to Baltimore for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 7, St. Louis Cardinals 5, and the Cubs were given a 58 percent probability to win by the ELO system. Chicago was a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total runs of 10 went over the over-under line of 8.