Ball plays trick on St. Louis Yadier Molina

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and most everyone else at Busch Stadium laughed at the bizarre sight — a ball somehow stuck to his chest protector, in plain view of everybody except him.

But the St. Louis star didn't think it was so funny when asked if a foreign substance helped the thing cling.

"Did I put anything on my chest protector to stick?" Molina said. "That's a dumb question."

Whatever happened, it sure made for strange situation. And it was the key play that sent the Chicago Cubs past St. Louis 6-4 Thursday.

The Cardinals led 4-2 in the seventh inning when things turned kooky.

Pinch hitter Matt Szczur led off by striking out on a pitch from Brett Cecil that skipped in the dirt. The ball bounced into Molina's protector and smack, it stayed there.

"I don't know if they've come out with Velcro on the protectors or it's just a fuzzy baseball," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "It was definitely Velcro-ed to his chest."

By the time Molina looked down and discovered the ball, it was too late, Szczur was safe. The Gold Glove catcher could only smile and fans in sellout crowd roared — really, who'd ever seen such a thing?

"I haven't seen that one before," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Catchers sometimes put pine tar somewhere on their uniforms, often around the shin guards, to help give them a better grip.

Molina was certain about one thing.

"That play changed everything," he said. "If we get that first out, everything changes."

After a walk, Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run homer. The Cubs added another run later in the inning against Cecil.

Schwarber, who injured his knee in an outfield collision in the third game last year and missed the rest of the regular season, enjoyed the big hit.

"We celebrated, I made it past the third game this year," Schwarber said.

New York 6, Atlanta 2: Matt Harvey dominated with a fastball in the mid-90 mph range and uncommon efficiency in his return from major surgery, beating the visiting Braves and giving the Mets hope his injury woes are behind him.

Miami 4, Washington 3 (10): Justin Bour doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning for the visiting Marlins.

Arizona 9, San Francisco 3: The Diamondbacks won a four-game series over the Giants at Chase Field for the first time in nine years.

Colorado 2, Milwaukee 1: Nolan Arenado broke a 1-1 tie in Milwaukee when he led off the ninth inning with his first homer of the season.

Chicago 11, Detroit 2: Geovany Soto hit two home runs, helping the host White Sox give Rick Renteria his first victory as the team's manager. Matt Davidson had his first career triple and his first home run as a member of the White Sox.

Seattle 4, Houston 2: The visiting Mariners won their first game of the season after dropping three in a row. George Springer hit his third home run of the series for the Astros.

Oakland 5, Los Angeles 1: Former Twin Trevor Plouffe drove in his first run with his new team, and the host Athletics salvaged a four-game split with the Angels.