Wetherholt has HR, 3 hits to lead Cards past Cubs 3-0 at foggy Wrigley

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie JJ Wetherholt homered and doubled, Kyle Leahy threw five crisp innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 at foggy Wrigley Field on Saturday night for their third straight victory.

Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson each had RBIs to help St. Louis win for the fifth time in six, and hand the Cubs a second straight loss following a five-game winning streak.

Wetherholt also singled and walked as the third-place Cardinals a half- game behind second-place Chicago in the NL Central.

The game was delayed by fog starting for 15 minutes after the sixth inning with the Cardinals ahead 2-0.

The rare Saturday night contest at the iconic North Side ballpark started an hour late due to rain, then fog billowed in beginning the second inning and got denser. Players seemed to struggle tracking fly balls, but there were no misplays.

Leahy (7-4) allowed three singles, while striking out six and walking two. Relievers George Soriano, Ryne Stanek, JoJo Romero and Riley O'Brien — who tossed the ninth for his 22nd save — each pitched a scoreless inning.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (5-7) gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Chicago All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, reached base four times with a hit, two walks and a hit by pitch.

Wetherholt laced an opposite-field shot on the first pitch of the game to set a Cardinals record of four leadoff homers by a rookie. It was his 13th homer overall.

Herrera had an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0. All-Star Jordan Walker doubled to lead off the eighth, then scored on Burleson's hit.

With two outs in the seventh and a runner on, Dansby Swanson lofted a drive off Stanek that Lars Nootbar caught against the left-center wall.

Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (4-5, 5.33 ERA) was set to oppose RHP Javier Assad (6-1, 4.53) on Sunday in the series finale.

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

St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker gestures after hitting a double against the Chicago Cubs during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga stands amidst smoke after fireworks before a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, center, throws to first base to complete a double play after forcing out St. Louis Cardinals José Fermín, left, at second base during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy throws the ball in the fog against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A performer at the funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people Sunday in the capital, Tehran.

The comment represents the first, direct call for Trump's death by an emcee at the funeral, which has seen posters and graffiti calling for the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's been a hard-line demand even as Tehran negotiates with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war that's disrupted global energy supplies.

Mohammad Rasouli, a poet, drew calls of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Speaking to the crowd over loudspeakers at the funeral, Rasouli asked, referring to Trump: “Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?”

The question drew cheers from the crowd, and again when Rasouli said that “the world is no longer a good place for” Trump.

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, later led a prayer Sunday at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla for Khamenei and his late family members.

A far-larger crowd for the funeral than the day before attended the ceremony Sunday. Mourners dressed in black walked to the site, carrying banners and flags honoring Khamenei and also calling for Trump's killing as the American president gave a speech in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

“We’ve had tremendous success,” Trump said, speaking of the American military. “You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We wiped it out, wiped out their military.”

U.S. federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials for years. That stems from Trump ordering the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who led the expeditionary Quds Force of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Iran repeatedly has denied plotting to kill Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage long has suggested Trump was in Tehran's crosshairs.

Trump meanwhile promised to destroy Iran's very civilization during the war among a variety of other threats.

The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before he was killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike in the opening moments of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country’s theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

That is important as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war and as concern lingers that Israel could attack again.

The funeral was delayed as the war raged, and talks are on hold until it is over.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A man carries a child holding a red Shiite religious flag outside the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque during the funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Mourners write messages on a wall, including one in English that reads "We will kill Trump," during the funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Mourners walk through the grounds of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque during the funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A mourner holds a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he walks past a wall bearing messages, including one in English that reads "We will kill Trump," during the funeral ceremonies for Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Mourners gather beneath a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the funeral ceremonies for Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)