Daryle Ward timed his first homer of the season perfectly when he belted his third career grand slam to power the Cubs to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. With the win, the Cubs will maintain sole possession of first in the Central Division.

"We're still watching them in the clubhouse," Ward said of the ever-present Milwaukee Brewers. "At first, it was a goal to stay at .500, and now it's a lot more than that. We want to stay consistent. We have the ballclub to do it, even with guys missing like Cliff and [Alfonso] Soriano."

Soriano is out until Sept. 1 with a strained right quad. Floyd's return is yet to be determined as he tends to family matters. He was on the players' minds. The Cubs canceled batting practice, and Derrek Lee and Jacque Jones not only went to the morning wake, but stayed for the service.

"All things considered, Cliff seemed OK," Lee said.

The Cubs can make things easier on him by winning. They began the day with a half-game lead over the Brewers, who lost their fifth in a row Friday night to Cincinnati.

"If we play well enough, we'll stay in first place," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We've been through a little tough spell. You've got to get your confidence back, and you have to wait for another hot spell.

"I feel better in first place than I did [Friday] a half a game out. We just have to win baseball games with more consistency."

With Saturday's win, the Cubs are 41-28 since June 3, the best record in the National League, but just 7-10 in August.

Ward did not attend the service, but his teammate was on his mind.

"At first, I think I did a little too much thinking," Ward said. "There were a lot of thoughts going on, thinking about Cliff and his family and what was going on there, and feeling sorry in that situation. That's tough -- I thank God I still have my father here. We're sending our prayers out to him. I know it's got to be tough."

"I couldn't tell the difference between them curtain-calling me or just cheering for the home run. I tried to give them a little fist pump in each direction so I could get them all at once."

-- Daryle Ward

The Cubs gave Sean Marshall (6-6) all the runs he needed in a five-run third. Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch from Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes (2-12) and advanced on a passed ball charged to Yadier Molina on strike three to Marshall. Ryan Theriot walked but was forced at second on Jones' grounder, which second baseman Brendan Ryan had trouble picking up. Lee then hit an RBI single.

Aramis Ramirez walked to load the bases and set up Ward's homer that provided a 5-0 lead. Primarily used as a pinch-hitter, Ward had been sidelined from July 19 until last Sunday because of a strained calf muscle. This was his fifth start in right. He admitted trying different good-luck charms to get going.

"I've been trying to do everything I can to get my first [homer]," he said. "I've tried different T-shirts and everything, and I finally got one and it came in a big spot and I was pretty jacked up about it."

Ward made the most of the moment, and took a bow at the top of the dugout steps before the rowdy Wrigley Field crowd of 41,369.

"Gerald [Perry, hitting coach] told me, 'Get up there, get up there,'" Ward said. "I couldn't tell the difference between them curtain-calling me or just cheering for the home run. I tried to give them a little fist pump in each direction so I could get them all at once."

The homer came off a changeup that was up in the zone. At first, it didn't look as if Ward hit it well enough to clear the wall.

"I wasn't sure it was going out," Piniella said. "It got up in that basket and it was a good five-run inning, and our pitching made it hold up."

Floyd most likely would've started in right field if he was with the team.

"We want him to come back and feel relaxed and get in there and not feel a whole lot of pressure," Ward said. "He's a guy who brings some excitement to the game. We miss him; we miss him around here. He's part of our family, and we need each other and we want him back as soon as possible."

This is the first time the Cubs have had sole possession of first this late in the season since they won the Central in 2003. Before Saturday, the Cubs most recently had sole possession of first place April 28-29, 2004, when they had a one-game lead over Houston.

The Cardinals tallied on solo homers by Juan Encarnacion and Ryan off Marshall, and Albert Pujols off Bob Howry in the eighth.

It got a little messy in the St. Louis sixth. Pujols was at third base with one out and tried to score when Carlos Marmol's pitch got away from Kendall. Kendall scrambled to retrieve the ball and threw to Marmol covering home while on his belly. Home-plate umpire Ted Barrett called Pujols out, although Cardinals fans might challenge that.

"I looked at the replay and it was the right call," Piniella said.

The start of the game was delayed 61 minutes because of rain, and play was halted for another 65 minutes with two outs in the St. Louis eighth because of rain. Howry was ahead, 2-1, to Chris Duncan when the rains came, and when play resumed, rookie Carmen Pignatiello threw one pitch, a changeup that he had an hour to think about, to end the inning.

"It feels like a playoff atmosphere, and this is the type of baseball that we want to play," Ward said. "We're pitching good and getting clutch hits when we need it. You can't ask to do more than just stay consistent and play good baseball."

And keep their teammate in their thoughts.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.