ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 in 10 innings Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium III, winning a tightly contested extra-inning affair before a crowd of 29,475.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the fourth inning on an Ian Happ fly ball that was muffed by right fielder Lars Nootbaar, allowing Alex Bregman to score from second base and tie the game at 1-1. Chicago added another run in the seventh on a Michael Busch single that scored Dansby Swanson, but the Cardinals answered in the bottom half when JJ Wetherholt led off with a solo home run to right field, his 16th of the season, to knot the score at 2-2.

Both teams had opportunities in the late innings. The Cubs stranded runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings, and the Cardinals left the potential winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth. The game remained tied until the 10th, when Chicago broke through with two runs to secure the victory and improve to 62-47 on the season. St. Louis fell to 54-55.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the top of the 10th inning. With the international tiebreaker rule placing a runner at second base to begin the extra frame, the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki started the inning on second. Michael Busch grounded out to first base, moving Suzuki to third. Alex Bregman then delivered a double to right field, scoring Suzuki and giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Ian Happ followed with a double of his own, driving in Bregman to make it 4-2. That two-run outburst proved decisive, as Cardinals batters went down in order in the bottom half of the inning.

The Cubs collected 11 hits in the game, while the Cardinals had 10. Chicago grounded into two double plays. Cubs starter Javier Assad worked four and one-third innings, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out six. Jacob Webb earned the win, pitching one and one-third innings of one-hit, scoreless relief. Aaron Civale recorded the save, his first of the season.

St. Louis starter Andre Pallante allowed one run on four hits over five innings but did not factor in the decision. Luis Gastelum took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in the 10th inning.

The game began with both starting pitchers dealing early. Pallante retired the side in order in the first, and Assad worked a clean first inning as well. The Cardinals broke the scoreless tie in the second inning. Lars Nootbaar drew a leadoff walk, Masyn Winn walked as well, and Bryan Torres singled to left field, scoring Nootbaar. But Assad limited the damage, getting Blaze Jordan to fly out and Nathan Church to strike out, leaving runners at second and third.

The Cubs answered in the fourth. Bregman led off with a double, advanced to third on a fly ball by Happ that Nootbaar misplayed, allowing Bregman to score. The error tied the game 1-1.

Chicago took its first lead in the seventh. Swanson walked, advanced to third on a wild pitch by reliever George Soriano, and scored on Busch’s single. But Wetherholt’s leadoff homer in the bottom half quickly erased that advantage.

In the eighth, the Cubs threatened again when Nico Hoerner singled with one out, but Carson Kelly grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Cardinals also had a chance in the eighth against Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar, who allowed a single to Iván Herrera but escaped unscathed.

The ninth inning saw both teams fail to capitalize. Cubs reliever Webb worked around a single by José Fermín, getting Wetherholt to ground into a force out and Jordan Walker to fly out. In the top of the 10th, the Cubs’ breakthrough proved enough.

Key performances included Bregman going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Busch going 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Happ going 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Pete Crow-Armstrong recorded two doubles for Chicago, finishing 2-for-5. For St. Louis, Wetherholt hit his 16th homer and also singled, going 2-for-5. Bryan Torres had two hits and drove in the Cardinals’ first run.

The game lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes.

The Cubs have now won three of the four games in this series at Busch Stadium, with the lone loss coming in 10 innings Wednesday. Chicago’s recent results include a 10-2 victory Tuesday and a 7-3 win Monday, giving the Cubs three wins in the four-game set. St. Louis has dropped five of its last six games overall.

The Cubs’ season record stands at 62-47, while the Cardinals are 54-55. Chicago will host the New York Yankees on Friday to begin a 10-game homestand that also includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, and a road trip to Kansas City. St. Louis travels to Toronto on Friday before visiting the Yankees next week, then returns home to face the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 7, St. Louis Cardinals 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Cubs a 56.90 percent probability to win. Chicago was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over-under line of 7.5.