CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals were able to enjoy clinching their playoff berth a little bit more Sunday afternoon.

By holding off the Chicago Cubs 4-3, the Cardinals avoided being swept. Manager Mike Matheny delivered a "quick talk" to his players to recognize their franchise-record fifth straight trip to the postseason.

"We're excited about it, and it's not something we take for granted," said Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal, who earned his 46th save after throwing 1 1/3 innings. "Obviously, we would love to win the division and bypass the wild card game. Just getting in any way we can is special."

When the San Francisco Giants lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, the Cardinals officially qualified for the playoffs.

Center fielder Tommy Pham and left fielder Stephen Piscotty homered as the Cardinals snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak.

The Cubs pulled to within one when infielder Tommy La Stella drew a bases-loaded walk against reliever Jonathan Broxton in the eighth.

After Seth Maness replaced Broxton, right fielder Jason Heyward caught shortstop Addison Russell's fly ball and threw out first baseman Anthony Rizzo at the plate to prevent the tying run.

"This guy's a great defender," Matheny said about Heyward. "He comes up throwing, it's very accurate and has a lot of velocity to it. He's just an all-around very good player."

Catcher Yodier Molina was injured on the play at the plate and later exited in the ninth due to a sprained left thumb. He is expected to be evaluated Monday.

Second baseman Starlin Castro singled to start the Cubs ninth, but pinch runner Quintin Berry was caught stealing. Rosenthal then got a strikeout and groundout to seal the victory.

The Cubs were trying for their first sweep of St. Louis since 2010 and are now two games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, winners at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, for the first wild card.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez (14-7) allowed two runs, struck out six and walked three in 6 2/3 innings.

Cubs starter Jon Lester (10-11) gave up four runs in six innings.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the first inning for their first lead of the series. Pham hit a solo shot for his fifth home run.

Heyward singled and was out at second base as shortstop Jhonny Peralta grounded into a fielder's choice. Piscotty hit a two-run shot for his fifth home run of the season. Third baseman Matt Carpenter doubled and scored on Peralta's single in the third for a 4-0 Cardinals lead.

"They just ambushed (Lester) early," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "After that, I thought he had really good stuff. The homer-homer, just give them credit. They came out, and they were ready to go."

Matheny liked the way his players approached the game.

"They left here with an edge (Saturday after a 5-4 loss) and they showed up this morning with an edge," Matheny said.

Rizzo's two-run single cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third. Martinez gestured that he should have received a third-strike call against right fielder Chris Coghlan. He ended up walking Coghlan to bring up Rizzo.

Upon umpire review, Cubs pinch hitter Starlin Castro was awarded first base after a pitch from Martinez grazed his right arm in the seventh. Castro was the seventh hit batter in the tense series. Center fielder Dexter Fowler then singled, but left fielder Kyle Schwarber grounded out against new reliever Kevin Siegrist.

Maddon remained upbeat about his young team.

"I could not be more proud of our guys. It's obvious that we are playing on the same level as (the Cardinals) are right now," Maddon said. "Now we know we can beat them and they know we can beat them too, and that's a good thing."

NOTES: St. Louis Cardinals OF Matt Holliday is moving closer to returning to the field, manager Mike Matheny said. Holliday has been in a pinch-hitting role since he was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday for a quadriceps strain. ... Chicago Cubs RHP Pedro Strop was unavailable to pitch Sunday against the Cardinals. The Cubs gave him a "beach day" after he closed out Saturday's 5-4 victory over St. Louis and earned his third save. Manager Joe Maddon said Strop could go to the beach after the game. A toy pool full of sand, a lounge chair and drinks were set in front of Strop's locker on Sunday morning.