CHICAGO (Interstat) — JJ Wetherholt homered on the first pitch he saw in the game, and that was all Kyle Leahy and the St. Louis Cardinals needed as they blanked the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Saturday at Wrigley Field in front of 38,872 fans.

The Independence Day matinee lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes and gave the Cardinals their second consecutive win in the three-game series, a day after they routed the Cubs 17-1. St. Louis improved to 47-39, while the Cubs dropped to 49-40.

Wetherholt, batting leadoff for the Cardinals, sent a 1-0 pitch from Cubs starter Shota Imanaga over the left-center-field wall for his 13th home run of the season, giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead before Imanaga had recorded an out. It was the only hit of the first inning for the Cardinals, who struck out three times after the homer but already had the advantage.

Leahy, who entered the game with a 6-4 record, worked efficiently through the Cubs lineup. He allowed four hits over six innings, walking three and striking out seven. The only Cubs batter to reach base in the first inning was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who walked but was stranded when Alex Bregman struck out and Michael Busch whiffed.

St. Louis added a run in the third inning. Nathan Church drew a one-out walk, and Wetherholt followed with a walk. Ivan Herrera then singled through the middle, scoring Church. The Cardinals had a chance for more but Jordan Walker grounded into a double play, and the inning ended with Wetherholt stranded at third.

The Cubs had their best scoring opportunity in the third when Michael Conforto singled and later advanced to second on a walk to Crow-Armstrong. But Bregman grounded into a forceout to end the inning.

St. Louis squandered another chance in the fifth when Wetherholt doubled with two outs and Herrera was hit by a pitch, but Walker struck out. The Cubs left two runners on in the fifth as well, when Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch and Conforto moved to second, but Bregman popped out.

Leahy exited after the sixth inning having thrown 93 pitches. He gave way to the bullpen, which preserved the shutout.

The Cardinals provided an insurance run in the eighth inning off Cubs reliever Trent Thornton. Walker led off with a double to left, and Alec Burleson followed with a single to right, scoring Walker. Burleson then stole second, but Masyn Winn struck out and the next two batters were retired.

Riley O’Brien came on in the ninth to close it out. He allowed a leadoff walk to Michael Conforto but then induced a game-ending double play from pinch-hitter Pedro Ramírez, grounding into a 6-3 double play. O’Brien earned his 22nd save of the season.

Imanaga took the loss, falling to 5-7. He allowed two runs on four hits over 4⅔ innings, striking out eight and walking two. The Cubs bullpen combined for 4⅓ innings of one-run ball, with Caleb Thielbar throwing 1⅓ hitless innings and Tyler Ferguson striking out two in a perfect eighth.

The Cubs managed only five hits, with Crow-Armstrong going 1 for 1 with two walks and a hit by pitch, Ian Happ 1 for 4, and Nico Hoerner also 1 for 4. Conforto had two hits, but the Cubs struck out 13 times and grounded into two double plays. Bregman, Dansby Swanson, and Busch combined for zero hits in 10 at-bats.

For the Cardinals, Wetherholt finished 2 for 4 with a homer, a double, a walk, two runs scored, and the RBI. Herrera had two hits, including the RBI single. St. Louis grounded into three double plays and struck out 14 times, but the early homer and strong pitching were enough.

The game marked the Cardinals’ second shutout of the Cubs this season, having also won 5-0 on May 31 in St. Louis. The two teams conclude the series Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 7, St. Louis Cardinals 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected the Cubs with a 58.00 percent probability to win. The Cubs had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over-under line of 8.5.