Chicago ? On a night when Darryl Kile was supposed to be on the mound, the St. Louis Cardinals mourned their lost teammate and honored him at the same time just by taking the field.

“It was tough. Darryl is such a big part. When he doesn’t play, he is on the bench,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “We missed him. He says things during the game. It was very difficult. It’s going to be difficult. It should be difficult because he was very special.”

Players and fans observe a moment of silence for St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile before the Cardinals' game Sunday at Chicago. Kile died Saturday at 33.

Kile’s familiar No. 57 was everywhere at Wrigley Field. On the umps’ hats. On the message board in center field. In the St. Louis dugout where two of his jerseys hung by the runway door. On the Cardinals’ shirt sleeves.

And, most certainly, on his teammates’ minds. Their emotional burden obvious, the Cardinals lacked the concentration Sunday night that helped them take over first place in the NL Central, losing 8-3 to the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals committed two errors and appeared to be going through the motions, one day after Kile’s shocking death.

“We gave it everything. … If we hadn’t played, we would have had huge regrets,” La Russa said. “We came out and tried our best and we got beat.

Kile, just 33, was found dead Saturday in his Chicago hotel room. The loss of Kile, a tough team leader who never spent a day on the disabled list during a career that began in 1991, staggered a team already aching from the death last week of broadcaster Jack Buck.

No Cardinals players were available for comment after Sunday’s game.

At a team meeting after Saturday’s game was postponed, the Cardinals voted unanimously to play Sunday night. They took the field with the support of Kile’s widow.

Jason Simontacchi (5-1) took the mound, trying to become the first St. Louis rookie starter since Allen Watson in 1993 to win his first six decisions. He lasted only four innings, while the Cubs got strong pitching from Kerry Wood (7-5) and homers from Alex Gonzalez and Moises Alou.

“Everybody on both sides was thinking about it,” Chicago’s Sammy Sosa said of Kile.