MONTREAL – Nomar Garciaparra scored the go-ahead run on Claudio Vargas’ wild pitch in the 11th inning and Mark Grudzielanek added an RBI single to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 2-1 win over the Montreal Expos on Wednesday night.

Garciaparra hit a one-out single off Vargas (5-5) in the 11th. Sammy Sosa singled one out later and Ramon Martinez walked to load the bases.

Vargas bounced his next pitch in the dirt and past catcher Brian Schneider, allowing Garciaparra to come home with the game’s first run.

Grudzielanek singled to center to make it 2-0, but center fielder Endy Chavez threw Martinez out at the plate to end the inning.

LaTroy Hawkins (4-4) allowed Chavez’s RBI-grounder in the bottom half of the inning, but held on for the win in two innings of relief.

Chicago, which claimed two of three from the Expos after being swept at home by Houston over the weekend, began the day tied with San Francisco for the NL wild-card lead, a half-game ahead of San Diego.

Both starters contributed stellar efforts to keep the game scoreless.

Kerry Wood rebounded from his worst outing of the season, striking out 11 while scattering five hits in eight innings. It was the fourth time this season he has reached double digits in strikeouts, and the 41st time in 159 career starts.

Wood allowed eight runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings in a 15-7 loss to Houston on Saturday.

Montreal had runners at first and third with one out in the sixth, yet failed to score. Wood struck out Brad Wilkerson and, with Chavez at the plate, Cubs catcher Michael Barrett’s quick throw caught Henry Mateo off first base to end the threat.

Expos starter Tony Armas Jr. allowed four hits in six scoreless innings, his longest outing in his last six starts. He struck out three and walked one.

The Cubs were scheduled to begin a three-game series in Florida on Friday, but travel plans following the game were still unconfirmed because of Hurricane Frances. Chicago may return home for an off-day Thursday instead of flying to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as originally scheduled.

Notes: Chicago purchased the contract of infielder Neifi Perez from Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day. Perez and outfielder Ben Grieve, who was acquired from Milwaukee on Tuesday, were both in uniform for the game. … Garciaparra went deep into the hole at shortstop and made a strong, off-balance throw on Chavez’s grounder for the first out of the seventh. … Grudzielanek, the Cubs’ second baseman, caught Schneider’s towering popup leading off the third after it struck the Olympic Stadium roof. … Montreal recalled Valentino Pascucci from Triple-A Edmonton earlier in the day. … Chavez has eight outfield assists this season.

AP-ES-09-01-04 2242EDT