By MATT PIKE
One day after scoring 17 runs, the St. Louis Cardinals backed a strong pitching performance with clutch hits, shutting out the Chicago Cubs 3-0 at Wrigley Field.
JJ Wetherholt set the tone immediatly in the game on the very first pitch, hitting a solo home run to put the Cardinals up 1-0 early. The home run was his fourth leadoff homer of the season, setting a Cardinals rookie record. It was the first on a three hit day for Wetherholt, who reached base in four of his five plate appearances, collecting his seventh three-hit game of the season.
The Cardinals put together their second run of the game in the third inning after Nathan Church and Wetherholt drew back-to-back walks before Iván Herrera lined an RBI single to center. St. Louis added the final run of insurance in the eighth on an RBI single by Alec Burleson, scoring Jordan Walker after he led off the inning with a double.
While Wetherholt supplied a chunk of the offense, Kyle Leahy handled the rest. Leahy threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out six and walking two. George Soriano, Ryne Stanek, and JoJo Romero combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out five while walking one. Riley O'Brien earned his 22nd save, walking one and striking out one in the ninth.
Wetherholt was 3-for-4 with a walk, a home run, and a double, coming just a triple shy of a cycle and driving in one. Burleson was 2-for-4 with an RBI while Walker was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring a run. Herrera was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
St. Louis and Chicago wrap up their series on Sunday. Matthew Liberatore (4-5, 5.33 ERA, 79K's) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Javier Assad (6-1, 4.53 ERA, 31K's) for the Cubs. First pitch is at 1:30pm, coverage begins at 1:20 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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