ST. LOUIS -- With the score tied in the bottom of the 11th inning, a runner on third base and just one out, there was no question what was about to take place.

It was only a matter of when.

On the third pitch thrown to him, David Eckstein laid down a textbook squeeze bunt to score pinch-runner Hector Luna easily, and the Cardinals edged the rival Chicago Cubs, 2-1, Friday.

"They knew we were thinking about it," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "It just became a guessing game as to when. That's the scary part. I guarantee you they were thinking pitch-out on all three pitches."

"We knew they were probably going to squeeze with him," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "We just didn't know when. We knew they were going to try something like that."

Pinch-hitter John Mabry sliced a leadoff triple in the 11th inning off the left-field fence and Luna came in to pinch-run for him. So Taguchi grounded out to the shortstop and that brought up Eckstein. He found himself in the same situation as on July 6 in Arizona, a game the Cardinals also won on a suicide squeeze.

"[A possible pitch-out] was going through my mind the whole time," Eckstein said. "I just knew I was going to have to find a way to get the bat on it. Hector did a great job of not tipping it off."

Luna's cool demeanor proved to be the key. The Cubs had actually called for a pitch-out, but reliever Sergio Mitre was paying too much attention to Luna and didn't see Eckstein square around for the bunt.

"According to Mitre, the runner broke really late and he had a tough time knowing the squeeze was on, and that's why he threw it where he did," Cubs' catcher Michael Barrett said. "Otherwise, he would've thrown it where we asked him to."

Barrett said the noise of 49,840 fans at a sold-out Busch Stadium affected Mitre's concentration as well.

"The one thing you want to do is not necessarily keep an eye on the runner but keep an eye on the hitter, and listen to your third baseman if you can," Barrett said. "That place is so loud, you really have to go off the hitter. If the hitter makes any move to bunt, that's how you defend that. They still have to get the bat head out in front."

The game seemed a fitting end to a classic pitching duel between starters Chris Carpenter (14-4, 2.26 ERA) and Carlos Zambrano (7-6, 3.42 ERA). Both pitched nine innings, giving up just one run. Carpenter allowed eight hits and struck out three.

Zambrano matched a career high in strikeouts, fanning 12 Cardinals. He did the same in 2004 at Busch Stadium. He did not walk a batter, gave up just three hits and retired 15 consecutive Cardinals batters at one point. Carpenter retired his last six batters.

"Oh my gosh, it was unbelievable," Eckstein said. "Carp went out there and did an excellent job, and Zambrano, he just goes out there and dominates the zone."

Rookie outfielder John Rodriguez tacked the first run on the board for the Cardinals with his solo blast in the first inning of the game, the second of his career and his second in a week. The homer traveled 418 feet.

"It was a fastball, but I think he wanted to throw it away and left it in," Rodriguez said.

Derrek Lee tied the score at 1 in the third, plating Jerry Hairston on a groundout.

Great pitching and great fielding marked the rest of the game. Rodriguez robbed Todd Hollandsworth of a double in the fourth inning, tracking his hit all the way back to the left-field fence.

"He has given us a tremendous lift," La Russa said. "We're all really impressed with how he moves in the outfield."

In the sixth inning, Albert Pujols hit one over the right-field fence, but Jeromy Burnitz reeled it back in.

The Cubs had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the 10th, but could not score. After Hairston got on board with a triple, Jason Isringhausen intentionally walked Todd Walker and unintentionally walked Burnitz to load the bases. But Aramis Ramirez grounded out to Eckstein.

"Walker is a real good clutch hitter, Burnitz is a good hitter, too, and I don't know if there has been a hotter batter in the Major Leagues [recently] than Ramirez," La Russa said. "You sort of pick your poison.