With the bases loaded and the score tied in the ninth, Gonzalez hit a slow grounder that sneaked past a diving Scott Rolen at third. Shortstop Edgar Renteria failed to field the ball cleanly and didn't attempt a throw as Corey Patterson raced home, giving the Cubs a 6-5 win over the Cardinals on Saturday.
"I knew it was going to be a tough play once Rolen missed the ball," Gonzalez said. "I heard the crowd go crazy, that's when I knew it was over."
Gonzalez would know. The shortstop has had seven game-ending hits in the ninth inning during his two seasons in Chicago.
"Some people just rise to that situation," said Patterson, who didn't start because of an illness. "He's done it a bunch."
Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou homered for the Cubs, who pulled within one game of the Central-leading Cardinals.
Sosa's homer moved him into a tie with Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 14th on the career list at 512.
St. Louis' Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds connected for the second day in a row at Wrigley Field.
Esteban Yan came on to relieve Jeff Fassero with one out and runners on second and third. He struck out Sosa then intentionally walked Alou to get to Gonzalez.
Rolen said he didn't have a choice on whether to dive.
"It's a base hit. There's nothing anyone can do about it," Rolen said. "Esteban threw a good pitch, it just didn't work out for us."
The Cubs trailed by five after two but chipped away at the deficit on homers by Sosa and Alou and tied it when reliever Cal Eldred threw consecutive wild pitches in the seventh.
BRAVES 3, EXPOS 2: Montreal closer Rocky Biddle hit Javy Lopez with a pitch to force in the tying run and walked Rafael Furcal with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, handing host Atlanta the win. Jung Keun Bong pitched a scoreless ninth for the Braves, who stretched their lead in the East to 61/2 games over the Phillies.
DODGERS 2, DIAMONDBACKS 0: Odalis Perez held Arizona hitless through seven and combined with Eric Gagne on a four-hitter as host Los Angeles snapped a seven-game losing streak. Gagne got three outs for his 38th consecutive save and 30th this season.
MARLINS 5, PHILLIES 4: Brad Penny pitched seven strong innings and Ivan Rodriguez homered for visiting Florida. Rookie Miguel Cabrera had a single, double and homer as the Marlins beat the Phillies for the second straight game.
METS 6, REDS 2: Jeromy Burnitz's run-scoring double ended Danny Graves' no-hit bid in the seventh and started a four-run rally for visiting New York. Steve Trachsel pitched six innings on a humid 90-degree night, keeping it scoreless until Graves faltered.
PIRATES 4, ASTROS 3: Jeff Suppan overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings in his second straight strong outing and hit a run-scoring double for host Pittsburgh. The Pirates overcame the Astros' two-run first by scoring three on four straight hits in their half of the first.
PADRES 5, GIANTS 2: Brian Buchanan was 3-for-4 with two RBIs as host San Diego beat baseball's hottest pitcher, Jason Schmidt. The Padres scored four runs on seven hits off Schmidt, whose 2.14 ERA was the best in the majors, and beat the West-leading Giants for just the second time in eight games this season.
ROCKIES 9, BREWERS 8: Todd Helton drove in four runs with a triple and a home run, and the host Rockies got six solid innings from Darren Oliver, who allowed three runs on five hits.
