CHICAGO — Kyle Gibson pitched two-hit ball over seven innings, Pedro Pagés broke a scoreless tie when he led off the eighth with his first career homer and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Friday.

Pagés, who had just three hits in 28 major league at-bats, gave the Cardinals the lead with a drive to the left-field basket against reliever Hayden Wesneski (2-4). The 25-year-old Venezuelan pointed toward the sky crossing home plate.

Michael Busch singled leading off the bottom half against Ryan Fernandez. Pinch runner Pete Crow-Armstrong stole second and went to third on a ground out but he was thrown out at home by second baseman Nolan Gorman trying to score on Miguel Amaya’s one-out ground ball. JoJo Romero retired pinch hitter Patrick Wisdom on a fly to the left-field corner that Brendan Donovan caught just in front of the ivy.

The Cardinals scored two more runs in the ninth. Iván Herrera blooped an RBI double off a lunging second baseman Nico Hoerner’s glove and Dylan Carlson drove him in with a single.

NOTES

ASTROS: Houston released José Abreu, cutting ties with the former AL MVP less than halfway through a three-year, $58.5 million contract.

General Manager Dana Brown said this was an extremely difficult decision considering how much money he is still owed.

“It’s always tough when the deal doesn’t work out, but it just didn’t work out this time,” Brown said.

The 37-year-old Abreu was batting .124 (14 for 113) with two homers and seven RBI this season, during which he spent time in the minors trying to fix his swing. The Astros still owe him $30.8 million from the deal he signed before last season.

A three-time All-Star during his nine years with the Chicago White Sox, Abreu was named MVP during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014 after defecting from his native Cuba the previous year.

His production dropped off significantly with the Astros. He batted .237 last year, the lowest average of his career, with 18 homers and 90 RBI.

CUBS: Starter Jordan Wicks left Friday’s 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals because of a strained right oblique and will likely be placed on the injured list, Manager Craig Counsell said.

Wicks exited in the second inning. He walked off the field accompanied by a trainer after giving up a two-out single to Dylan Carlson. Kyle Hendricks came in and retired Brendan Donovan on a grounder to second.

GAMBLING: Major League Baseball plans to discipline umpire Pat Hoberg following an investigation into a potential violation of sports gambling policies.

In a statement, the commissioner’s office said Hoberg has decided to appeal the penalty. MLB did not disclose the nature of the violation or the extent of the punishment.

“While MLB’s investigation did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal that determination. Therefore, we cannot comment further until the appeal process is concluded,” the statement said.

MLB said it began investigating Hoberg during spring training this year and he was removed from the field while the probe was ongoing.

BRAVES: Leadoff hitter and center fielder Michael Harris II left the Braves’ game against the Tampa Bay Rays with tightness in his left hamstring.

Harris led off the first inning with a single off right-hander Zack Littell. When Ozzie Albies followed with a double down the right field line, Harris advanced to third base but showed discomfort and he pulled up before reaching third base.