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In that start, McGreevy retired five of the first six batters he faced in his first two innings before he was hit for five runs in the third inning. At the time, the start represented his most troubling showing in the majors.

“I wasn’t stoked with the Chicago outing last time,� McGreevy said. “Obviously, it was just one bad inning, but you always have to take learning lessons away from bad outings like that.�

The outing provided the 24-year-old with some “confidence� in how he would approach the Cubs lineup Friday night at Busch Stadium.

The lessons aided McGreevy to turn in six scoreless innings against Chicago in the Cardinals’ 5-0 shutout win over their National League Central division rivals. The win elevated the Cardinals, who had franchise icon Yadier Molina in uniform as guest coach in the dugout, back to a record above .500.

“I was able to just pick up the pieces from where we left off and what went well, what didn’t go well, and was just able to just keep going with that,� McGreevy said.

The Cardinals (59-58) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single from Jordan Walker that had a 107.9-mph exit velocity, per Statcast, and received RBIs from Ivan Herrera, Willson Contreras, and Pedro Pages in the middle innings to back McGreevy’s start.

The hard-hit ball by Walker was the one of three he put in play with an exit velocity of 107 mph or faster. The 23-year-old right fielder hit a 434-foot solo homer in the sixth inning that had a 111.7-mph exit velocity and marked his first homer since May 17. He also singled in the eighth inning on a ball that had a 111.4-mph exit velocity.

“There are certain games you can point to and today is one of them where he did exactly what you want to see,� Marmol said of Walker, who is batting .318 in 18 games since returning from the injured list on July 18.

The run support from Walker’s two RBIs, RBIs from Herrera, Contreras, and Pages, and scoreless one-inning relief appearances from Matt Svanson, JoJo Romero, and Riley O’Brien helped the Cardinals to their 11th shutout of the season. It was their first shutout against the Cubs at Busch Stadium since July 30, 2023.

The effort by McGreevy earned him his second career win over the Cubs and marked his first scoreless start in the majors. McGreevy’s adjustments from his June outing vs. the Cubs marked the second time this year he delivered improved results when facing a team that troubled him in a previous encounter.

“That’s what you’re looking for is how big-league guys are responding to him and then once he sees them a second time through, if there are some changes there,� Marmol said of McGreevy, who allowed four runs in six innings on Saturday vs. the Padres after they hit him for a career-high seven runs in 4 2/3 innings on July 27. “We’re excited with his progress. We’ve got to keep working.�

McGreevy flashed six pitches in his Friday start. The normally groundball-heavy righty recorded six outs on flyouts and five outs on the ground as he leaned primarily on his fastball rather than his sinker. He got four whiffs on his changeup for a 36% whiff rate with that off-speed pitch, per Statcast.

The 25-year-old worked with at least one runner on base in all but one inning as the Cubs produced nine hard-hit balls against him, one of which he could not avoid.

A 104.6-mph line drive from Pete Crow-Armstrong to lead off the second inning hit McGreevy squarely in the chest, though McGreevy remained “unfazed,� Marmol described, as he scooped up the baseball and threw to first base for the out.

“The ball is coming right at me, and my body just freezes,� said McGreevy, who was visited by a team trainer after he was hit. “My mind is thinking at 1,000 words per second, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, here comes the ball.’ Like, ‘Dude, move, move, move.’ Like, ‘Catch it.’ By that time, I just didn’t move.

“I was watching it in slow (motion)... It hit me right here, right under the Nike sign right here,� said McGreevy, who pointed to the logo on center of the shirt he wore postgame. “It just ricocheted right to me. I’m like, ‘Well, I’ve got to get an out. … In the later innings, I was getting a little like, ‘Oh, okay. Now I’m starting to feel it.’ The adrenaline wears off. But, all good. Glory to God that everything is fine.�

During the fifth inning, McGreevy demonstrated “poise� when a walk to Nico Hoerner and a single by Dansby Swanson put runners on first and second base with no outs for leadoff hitter Michael Busch as Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker were set to follow.

McGreevy struck out Busch swinging on a changeup that got the lefty to chase. He got Suzuki, who entered the series opener with an .831 OPS, to pop out and got Kyle Tucker, the NL’s starting left fielder in this year’s All-Star game, to fly out to end the scoring threat.

“He’s been able to do that quite a bit. He doesn’t get sped up,� Marmol said of the rookie. “Even the line drive. … There’s just a steadiness to him. A poise, especially at his age, which is a really good trait. He’s the same guy regardless of what’s going on.�

Cardinals 5, Cubs 0

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Busch 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .264

Suzuki dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .251

Tucker rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .272

Happ lf 4 0 2 0 0 2 .232

Crow-Armstng cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .261

Kelly c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .268

Castro 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Hoerner 2b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .292

Swanson ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .245

Totals 34 0 7 0 1 6

St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Donovan 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .278

Herrera dh 3 0 0 1 0 1 .301

Contreras 1b 3 0 1 1 1 0 .259

Burleson lf 4 1 3 0 0 1 .285

Scott cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .223

Winn ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 .272

Walker rf 4 1 3 2 0 0 .240

Saggese 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .239

Pagés c 4 1 2 1 0 1 .210

Hampson cf-lf 3 1 0 0 0 0 .125

Totals 32 5 13 5 1 5

Chicago 000 000 000 — 0 7 0

St. Louis 010 022 00x — 5 13 0

LOB: Chicago 9, St. Louis 7. 2B: Winn (25), Saggese (8). HR: Walker (4), off Brasier. RBIs: Walker 2 (31), Herrera (42), Contreras (65), Pagés (33). SF: Herrera. S: Hampson, Donovan. DP: Chicago 1.

Chicago IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Boyd, L, 11-5 5 7 3 3 0 3 2.45

Brasier 1 3 2 2 0 2 3.91

Pearson 2 3 0 0 1 0 9.20

St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO ERA

McGreevy, W 4-2 6 6 0 0 1 3 4.40

Svanson 1 1 0 0 0 2 2.67

Romero 1 0 0 0 0 1 2.04

O’Brien 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.78

Inherited runners-scored: Romero 1-0. HBP: Romero (Tucker).

T: 2:42. Att.: 33,453.