Liberatore and Dobbins pitch the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Cubs

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matthew Liberatore took a shutout into the sixth inning and Masyn Winn hit a two-run single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Sunday night.

JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera each had two hits and scored twice for the Cardinals, who took two of three from their NL Central rivals after entering the series on a four-game losing streak. Alec Burleson drove in two runs.

Alex Bregman homered for the Cubs, who are 3-2 since a 10-game skid.

Liberatore (3-3) allowed three hits and one walk in 5 1/3 scoreless innings after giving up at least three runs in each of his previous three starts. He struck out four.

Hunter Dobbins relieved Liberatore hours after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis and yielded one run on four hits with four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings for his first professional save.

Bregman hit his fifth homer this season to left field off his former Boston teammate in the sixth to spoil the shutout and extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Burleson blooped an RBI single off reliever Ethan Roberts that landed just in front of left fielder Ian Happ to make it 3-0 in the third. Winn added a two-run single that extended the margin to 5-0.

Jordan Walker had an RBI single for the Cardinals in a two-run first.

Jordan Wicks (0-2) was charged with three runs and four hits in two-plus innings. He was removed after Wetherholt reached on an infield single leading off the third.

St. Louis opened a 2-0 lead after Wetherholt, Herrera and Walker all singled to start the bottom of the first.

Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon (2-4, 5.37 ERA) will face Athletics LHP Gage Jump (0-1, 7.20) to open a six-game homestand Tuesday night.

Cardinals: RHP Michael McGreevy (3-4, 2.98 ERA) faces Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (3-4, 3.77) to begin a three-game series Monday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt, left, gestures toward the dugout while first base coach Stubby Clapp (82) stands nearby after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore is congratulated by teammates after being relieved from the mound during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Sunday, May 31, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn hits a two RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Sunday, May 31, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson (7) is safe at second as St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn leaps for the ball during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 31, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Sunday, May 31, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

TOKYO (AP) — Eight crested ibises were released into the wild in a north-central Japanese town, decades after the birds went extinct in the country.

Eight of the endangered birds took off from each of their wooden cages at a ceremony Sunday in Hakui city in the Noto region, where they were last seen in the wild.

The white birds, called Toki in Japan, are native to East Asia and admired for their orange-pink hues under their wings and bright red marks around their eyes.

Residents cheered when the birds soared into the sky the moment Crown Prince Akishino, his wife Kiko, and other officials cut a ribbon around the wooden cages.

The birds went extinct on the Honshu main island in the 1970s, threatened by overhunting and environmental degradation. The last remaining Japanese native ibis died in 2003 on Sado.

But the birds came back to life thanks to China’s support for breeding. In 1999, artificial breeding by a pair donated from China successfully led to the first Japanese crested ibis chick born in captivity, according to the Environment Ministry.

The breeding and conservation efforts have since helped the recovery of the birds’ population. In 2008, 10 of the birds raised at the Sado conservation center were released into the wild on the island, where their population has increased to around 500, the ministry says.

The release of the beloved birds was also seen as a good omen for the Noto region, which is still recovering from the deadly 2024 earthquake.

The eight birds have been raised and protected at a conservation center on Sado Island in the neighboring prefecture of Niigata. Ten more birds are waiting to be released.

A crested Ibis marked with painted wings flies as it was released into wild during an event in Hakui, Japan, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)