ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Michael McGreevy allowed one run over six innings, Alec Burleson cleared the bases with a three-run double in the sixth, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium III. St. Louis took the weekend series and improved to 76-78. Chicago fell to 77-74 and saw its American League Central lead shrink to a half-game over Cleveland. The game lasted 2 hours, 26 minutes and was played before an announced crowd of 34,609.

Chicago struck first in the second inning. Andrew Benintendi singled on a sharp ground ball to right, and Tristan Peters doubled on a sharp ground ball to right to put runners at second and third. Chase Meidroth followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Benintendi. The White Sox finished with four hits. Sam Antonacci tripled, Peters doubled, and Benintendi and Miguel Vargas each singled. Chicago put runners on in the third when Kyle Teel walked, but Miguel Vargas struck out. The White Sox also threatened in the sixth when Antonacci tripled and Teel walked, but Antonacci was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice, and the rally died.

The early innings were dominated by pitching. Sandlin retired the first nine Cardinals in order, striking out Torres and Herrera in the first and adding a strikeout of Walker in the second. Chicago’s defense turned routine plays behind him, with Munetaka Murakami at first and Colson Montgomery at shortstop handling grounders. McGreevy matched him, setting down the White Sox in order in the first and working around a walk in the third. He stranded Teel at first when Vargas struck out swinging. The Cardinals did not record a hit until the sixth, and Sandlin did not allow a baserunner until Church’s single.

McGreevy was the top star for St. Louis. The right-hander worked six innings, yielded three hits and one earned run, struck out six and walked two. He kept Chicago off balance after the early run, and the Cardinals’ bullpen did the rest. Gordon Graceffo pitched two hitless innings and struck out three. George Soriano worked the ninth for his fourth save, allowing one hit. St. Louis pitchers combined for 11 strikes, 41 balls and 11 balls in play. The Cardinals’ staff allowed only four hits and did not give up an earned run after the second.

David Sandlin was sharp for Chicago. The right-hander retired the first 16 batters he faced and was perfect until Nathan Church singled with one out in the sixth. Sandlin finished with 5 2/3 innings, two hits, no earned runs and five strikeouts. Chris Murphy followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. Trevor Richards pitched a scoreless inning. Chicago pitchers combined for 17 strikes, 57 balls and 17 balls in play. Sandlin left with the lead intact, but the defense behind him faltered in the sixth.

The decisive rally came in the sixth. Church singled on a fly ball to right, and Masyn Winn singled on a line drive to left. Bryan Torres struck out on a foul tip for the second out, but Ivan Herrera reached on a fielding error by shortstop Colson Montgomery that loaded the bases. Burleson then lined a double to right field, clearing the bases and scoring Church, Winn and Herrera. The runs were unearned because of the error, but they turned a 1-0 Chicago lead into a 3-1 St. Louis advantage. Jordan Walker struck out to end the inning, but St. Louis had the lead for good. The inning exemplified the game’s narrow margin: Chicago had four hits and one run, while St. Louis made its four hits count.

St. Louis finished with four hits. Church had two of them, including a double, and scored once. Winn singled and scored once. Burleson’s double was his 36th of the season, and it accounted for all three RBI. The Cardinals did not need much else. Their defense and bullpen protected the lead, and Soriano closed it out in the ninth. The save was his fourth. McGreevy improved to 7-10 with the win, while Sandlin dropped to 2-2 with the loss.

Chicago had a final push in the ninth. Miguel Vargas singled on a line drive to left, and Munetaka Murakami walked to put two runners on with no outs. Benintendi flew out to center, and Peters grounded into a forceout that put runners at first and third. Meidroth walked to load the bases, but Montgomery flew out to center to end the game. The White Sox stranded the bases loaded and dropped the series finale. They left multiple runners on base in the late innings and could not deliver a key hit against Graceffo or Soriano.

The loss left Chicago in a crowded playoff race. The White Sox have struggled over the past two weeks, losing four of their last six and 10 of their last 14. They remain atop the AL Central by a half-game over Cleveland. Toronto also won Sunday, keeping pressure on Chicago in the wild-card race. Chicago will open a three-game series at Cleveland on Monday night. St. Louis will host San Francisco on Monday. The Cardinals have won two of their last three against Chicago after taking Friday’s opener and Sunday’s finale, while the White Sox won Saturday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of St. Louis 4, Chicago 3, and its ELO system gave St. Louis a 54.6 percent probability to win. Chicago had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The projected margin and win probability favored St. Louis before first pitch. The over/under line was 8, and the game’s total score was 4.