Nothing crossed the plate for Chicago all afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals came to Wrigley Field on Independence Day and left with a 3-0 shutout, built on quiet, persistent pitching and a first-inning swing that set the tone from the start.
Kyle Leahy was the story on the mound. The right-hander worked five scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 2, and striking out 6 on 77 pitches. He picked up his seventh win against four losses, carrying a 3.86 ERA. Riley O'Brien closed it out with a scoreless ninth, striking out one and earning his 22nd save of the season.
JJ Wetherholt provided the only run St. Louis would need, homering to left center — 364 feet — in the first inning to put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. He finished 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and an RBI, batting .266 on the season with 13 home runs and 36 RBI. Ivan Herrera extended the lead in the third, singling to center to score Church and make it 2-0. Alec Burleson added an insurance run in the eighth, singling to right to score Walker and push the margin to 3-0.
Shota Imanaga absorbed the loss, his seventh against five wins. He lasted 4.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts on 86 pitches. His ERA stands at 4.37. Chicago managed only 5 hits on the day and never threatened to score.
St. Louis has won two straight and moved to 46-39. The Cubs, who entered at 49-39, fall to second in the division after dropping this one at home.