Eventful 9th swings game Cardinals’ way

ST. LOUIS — Randal Grichuk spent several minutes before Monday’s series opener against the Cubs trying to convince a horde of media members that the tightness in his back that forced him out of a game late last week had been appropriately addressed. Whomever his words might not have convinced would see for themselves a few hours later that all is, indeed, just fine.

With the first walk-off blast of his life, Grichuk left the Cardinals celebrating a 4-3 victory to open a key May series at Busch Stadium. Grichuk’s game-winning moment was set up by Matt Adams’ game-tying pinch-hit homer two innings earlier but also capped a swing of momentum that began in the top half of the ninth.

Showing faith in his recently wobbly closer, Trevor Rosenthal, manager Mike Matheny summoned Rosenthal in the ninth to preserve a tie game. Coming off a laborious outing in which he allowed two runs on four hits, Rosenthal promptly allowed a pair of singles that positioned the Cubs 90 feet from reclaiming the lead. He then had cleanup hitter Anthony Rizzo to deal with next.

“In that situation against Rizzo,” Rosenthal said, “I was thinking, …

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