PHILADELPHIA - Rafael Furcal made the stop in the hole, the plant, and the accurate throw to first base.
He just couldn't nip Philadelphia's still-speedy Juan Pierre in time for the third out.
Pierre beat out a run-scoring infield single in the 11th inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Jimmy Rollins reached against Barret Browning (0-2) on a fielder's choice. He advanced to second base on a grounder and then stole third.
Pierre hit one deep into the hole that shortstop Furcal made a great stab at and fired to first. Pierre just beat the throw to score Rollins and help the Phillies win two of three against the Cardinals.
"Pierre showed his speed. I thought he would be out," Browning said. "All losses are tough, but this one hurts a little more."
Pierre said he was inspired watching Usain Bolt sprint to gold on his mad dash to first.
"I played with Furcal so I knew what kind of arm he had," Pierre said. "Guys are saying he slipped a little bit and couldn't get that much on the throw. He still got a lot on it, but not enough, and it happened to work out."
Philadelphia's Erik Kratz hit a three-run homer off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth that tied the game 7-all.
Ryan Howard also homered for the Phillies. Matt Carpenter had four hits and three RBI for the Cardinals.
Jeremy Horst (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings for his first major-league victory in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.
Kratz continued his role as unlikely star for the Phillies and delivered one of his biggest hits.
Chase Utley and Howard walked against Marc Rzepczynski to lead off the eighth. Kratz then connected for the tying homer to left that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The 32-year-old Kratz was a minor-league journeyman pressed into the big leagues when reserve catcher Brian Schneider was injured. Kratz has become a fan favorite because of his instant production (nine of first 13 hits for extra bases) and feel-good story.
His tying shot was the breakthrough the Phillies needed against a tough Cardinals bullpen.
"We were close to getting out of it," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It was the right pitch, but wrong location."
Jon Jay hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning, and Carpenter followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4.
Cardinal relievers had held the Phillies scoreless until the eighth after they scored four runs against starter Lance Lynn.
Howard, who missed 84 games after rupturing his left Achilles tendon while making the final out of the NL division series last October, had little to worry about on his home-run trot. His solo shot to left-center, his seventh, tied the game at 4 in the fourth inning. The game appeared headed toward a back-and-forth high scoring game - and returned to that flavor over the final three innings.
Lynn entered leading the National League with a 6.77 run support average and his 23rd start of the season was trending that way.
The Phillies roughed up Lynn with a three-run first. Utley's two-RBI triple made it 2-1 and Howard followed with a shot off second baseman Daniel Descalso's glove for a run-scoring single.
Lynn, a 13-game winner, allowed four runs in five innings and is winless in his last three starts.
"I've just got to start making pitches when I need to," he said. "I've got to make better pitches."
The Cardinals did what they could to put Lynn in position for win No. 14. Carlos Beltran doubled to right for his NL-best 83rd RBI in the third to cut it to 3-2.
The Cardinals scored the tying run in the fourth on a throwing error by Kratz and went up 4-3 on Carpenter's RBI single to center.
Carpenter wasted little time putting the Cardinals up 1-0 in the first when he ripped one into the right-center gap for an RBI double.
Vance Worley has just one win in five starts and had another rough outing Sunday. He allowed nine hits and four runs in 51â„3 innings - one start after he was chased by Atlanta in the fourth inning. He has battled bone chips that caused a stint on the DL and a string of mediocre starts.
Notes: The Phillies finished 5-4 on their homestand. ... The Phillies are 5-9 in extra innings, the Cardinals 3-8. .... Carpenter had his second four-hit game of the season. ... Beltran has reached base in his last 14 games.