ST. LOUIS (AP) Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker's leadoff homer, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Monday night to close in on the NL Central crown.
Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th home run. Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman.
Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the division title. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the NL Central with a three-game sweep in St. Louis.
The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the league's second wild card.
Soon after Hazelbaker's shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks - leading to an argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West.
Maddon was ejected, and Chapman entered to finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees.
Hendricks, who threw 96 pitches, struck out seven and walked two.
It was the fourth no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning this season. Cubs teammate Jake Arrieta tossed the lone no-hitter in the majors this year, winning 16-0 at Cincinnati on April 21.
Mike Leake (9-10) pitched six innings and allowed four runs (three earned).
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