Cardinals walk off Cubs, spoil Pete Crow-Armstrong's would-be game winning HR in extras

After nine innings of scoreless baseball, Pete Crow-Armstrong broke through with a 10th-inning home run to send the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 lead over the rival St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night.

He celebrated the hit like it was a game-winner. The Cardinals had other ideas.

St. Louis countered with three runs in the bottom of the frame, featuring a walk-off double by Iván Herrera to spoil Crow-Armstrong's heroics and send St. Louis to a 3-2 win.

Herrera answers

Herrera took the plate with runners on first and second and the Cubs holding a 2-1 lead. He delivered a line drive off of Trent Thornton to the left-centerfield gap that rolled to the wall and allowed Nathan Church and JJ Wetherholt to score the deciding runs.

The walk-off double sent Busch Stadium into a frenzy as the Cardinals beat the rival Cubs, picking up a key win to improve to 54-54 and move within 2.5 games of the National League's final wild-card spot.

That it spoiled Crow-Armstrong's night surely made it that much sweeter for the home fans.

PCA stunts after go-ahead HR

The Cubs entered extras having posted just a single hit in a game that was locked in a scoreless tie. But with one out and the automatic runner on second, Crow-Armstrong delivered an 0-1 Luis Gastélum offering into the rightfield bullpen.

Crow-Armstrong knew it immediately. He stunted for a moment at the plate, then waved to the Busch Stadium crowd as he rounded second in what he surely believed was a game-winning home run trot.

Alas, it was not.