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Cardinals ace pitcher Sonny Gray held the Chicago White Sox scoreless for seven innings, while Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras provided the bulk of the offense to get the homestand started on a winning note.

Arenado went 2 for 4, swatted a pair of doubles and drove in three runs in a 3-0 Cardinals win over the White Sox in front of an announced crowd of 34,010 at Busch Stadium for the first game of a three-game set on Friday night.

The Cardinals (15-17) avoided losing three games in a row after having dropped the final two games of their road trip in Detroit, and they shut out an opponent for the second time this season. Their first shutout came at home against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 9.

Ryan Helsley earned his major-league best 11th save.

Gray (4-1) lowered his earned run average to 0.89 this season, and he has not allowed a run in the first four innings of any of his starts this season. On Friday, Gray struck out six and allowed just three hits and one walk in seven innings.

Contreras, the Cardinals catcher, went 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored. He recorded his first multi-hit game at Busch Stadium this season, his first multi-hit game at home or on the road since April 17, at Oakland.

Old friends return to Busch

Friday night marked Paul DeJong’s first game at Busch Stadium as a member of an opposing team. DeJong spent the majority of the first seven seasons of his major-league career with the Cardinals up until the trade deadline last summer.

“It actually is the first time I’ve been in the visitors clubhouse, and in this dugout it’s a different view as well,â€� DeJong said while speaking to reporters in the visiting dugout prior to the game. “But I’m just happy to be here with this team and excited to be in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€�

The Cardinals traded DeJong to the Toronto Blue Jays along with cash for minor-league pitcher Matt Svanson on Aug. 1. A former collegiate standout at Illinois State University, DeJong signed with the White Sox this offseason.

The fans at Busch Stadium gave DeJong a warm round of applause before his first at-bat in the second inning. Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras stepped out from behind the plate and threw a new baseball to Gray to create a pause in action to allow DeJong a chance to acknowledge the crowd and tip his helmet.

Former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham, who last played for the Cardinals in 2018, signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox on April 16. He joined the big club on April 26, and he started in center field and batted second for the White Sox on Friday.

Pham began last season with the New York Mets, and he finished the season playing for the NL pennant-winning Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gray matters

Protecting a two-run lead in the third inning, Gray stranded a pair of runners on base to keep the White Sox out of the scoring column.

Gray gave up a two-out single to Nicky Lopez followed by a walk by Pham. While Pham was at the plate, Lopez advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Lopez then stole third on ball four to Pham.

Gray then got an inning-ending lineout from White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez to Arenado at third base. He’d allowed just one batter to reach base in the first two innings.

After the walk to Pham, Gray retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced.

Gray reached 1,600 career innings with the second out of sixth inning, a fly out to center by Jimenez.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol turned to left-hander JoJo Romero at the start of the eighth inning. Gray had thrown 94 pitches through seven innings, his longest outing of the season.

Arenado delivers key hits for Cards

The Cardinals grabbed a two-run lead in the first inning thanks to a pair of doubles by Contreras and Arenado.

Contreras’ double with one gave him the first hit of the ballgame for either team. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a walk, then Arenado lined a first-pitch slider into left-center field — 105.4-mph exit velocity off the bat – that allowed both Contreras and Goldschmidt to score.

Arenado drove in the Cardinals’ third run with another RBI double in the fifth inning, and, once again, Contreras scored on the play. Contreras drew a one-out walk and Arenado doubled into the right field corner with two outs. Arenado’s second double, his 66th double of interleague play, gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

Keller made first start for White Sox

White Sox starting pitcher Brad Keller had once been among the candidates for “biggest Chicago sports villain� in an NBC Chicago poll in 2020, following a benches-clearing altercation that included him hitting then-White Sox All-Star Tim Anderson with a pitch while Keller was a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals in 2019.

Keller, originally drafted by the Diamondbacks (eighth round, 2013), made his debut with the Royals in 2018 as a Rule 5 Draft pick. He spent the first six season of his major-league career with the Royals — he made a pair of opening day starts for them — but he got moved to the bullpen late in 2022 and injury derailed his 2023 season. He had offseason surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, and he signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox in March.

Friday night marked his first start for the White Sox. He came into the night having pitched just 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the White Sox in a relief outing.

Keller allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five, and he threw 102 pitches. All three runs were driven in by Arenado.