ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run in the third inning and Michael McGreevy tossed six shutout innings as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday at Busch Stadium III.

Both teams entered the game with identical 20-13 records, and the Cardinals pulled even in the three-game series after winning Friday’s opener 7-2.

McGreevy allowed three hits, walked two and struck out three over six innings. He improved to 2-2 on the season. Roki Sasaki took the loss, falling to 1-3 after allowing three runs on five hits in five innings. Riley O’Brien earned his ninth save by working a scoreless ninth inning.

The game drew 34,323 fans and lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes.

St. Louis broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Ivan Herrera led off with a double to left field. Alec Burleson followed with a double to right field, scoring Herrera to make it 1-0. Walker then launched a line-drive home run to left field, his 10th of the season, scoring Burleson and giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals’ offense managed just six hits total, but the three-run outburst proved decisive.

Los Angeles threatened repeatedly but could not score until the ninth inning. The Dodgers stranded runners in scoring position in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings, hindered by three double plays.

In the top of the second, Teoscar Hernandez walked and Max Muncy singled, but Andy Pages struck out and Hyeseong Kim grounded out. In the fourth, Will Smith walked but Kyle Tucker flied out and Hernandez grounded into a double play. In the fifth, Andy Pages walked but Hyeseong Kim grounded into a double play. In the seventh, Hernandez singled and Muncy walked, but Pages struck out.

The Dodgers finally broke through in the ninth against O’Brien. Freddie Freeman struck out to start the inning. Will Smith lined out to right field. Kyle Tucker then singled on a ground ball to shortstop Masyn Winn. Teoscar Hernandez followed with a single to shortstop, moving Tucker to second. Max Muncy singled sharply to right field, deflected by second baseman JJ Wetherholt, scoring Tucker and moving Hernandez to third. Andy Pages then singled on a ground ball to left field, scoring Hernandez and bringing Muncy to second. With the tying and go-ahead runs on base, Dalton Rushing struck out swinging to end the game.

McGreevy worked efficiently, facing the minimum through the first three innings. He allowed only a single to Freddie Freeman in the first, a single to Max Muncy in the second and a single to Alex Freeland in the third. He induced three double plays, including a lineout double play in the third when Shohei Ohtani lined to second baseman Wetherholt, who doubled off Alex Freeland.

The Dodgers outhit the Cardinals 8-6 but could not capitalize.

Key offensive performances for St. Louis included Walker going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, Nathan Church going 1-for-4 with a double, Masyn Winn going 1-for-4 with a double and Burleson going 1-for-2 with a walk, a double and an RBI.

For Los Angeles, Max Muncy went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, Teoscar Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, Kyle Tucker went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Andy Pages went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.

The Dodgers entered the game having lost three of their previous four games, including a 2-1 decision to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday and a 3-2 loss to the Marlins on Tuesday. The Cardinals had won four of their previous five games, including a 10-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

The two teams will conclude their series Sunday at Busch Stadium. The Dodgers then travel to Houston for a three-game set starting Monday, while the Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Los Angeles Dodgers 6, St. Louis Cardinals 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected the Dodgers with a 64.40 percent probability to win. The Dodgers had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of five runs went over the over/under line of nine.