Padres vs Cardinals Recap: Hard-fought 3-2 Loss in St. Louis

The Padres came to Busch Stadium ready for a fight. San Diego had just lost the night before, falling 3-0 to St. Louis. Now they had a chance to bounce back and even up the series. But the Cardinals came out swinging in the second inning. Michael King took the mound for San Diego, and the Cardinals made him work. Blaze Jordan stepped up with two outs and crushed a double into left field. Lars Nootbaar raced home to score. Nathan Church followed with a single to right, and Jordan sprinted around the bases for another run. Just like that, St. Louis led 2-0. The Padres needed to answer fast or this game would slip away from them.

San Diego refused to quit. In the fifth inning, Ty France stepped into the box facing Andre Pallante. France connected with a knuckle curve and sent a single to center field. Samad Taylor raced home to score. The Padres cut it to 2-1. But the Cardinals answered right back in their half of the fifth. Lars Nootbaar came up with two outs and hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Ivan Herrera tagged up and scored easily. St. Louis pushed the lead back to 2-1. Then in the sixth, Jackson Merrill doubled to center for San Diego. Fernando Tatis Jr. scored to make it 2-2. The game was tied now, and everything was on the line.

Andre Pallante was brilliant on the mound for St. Louis. The Cardinals pitcher threw seven strong innings, giving up only two runs on four hits. He struck out six Padres and walked none. Pallante's control was sharp and his composure was amazing. The Cardinals brought in their bullpen to close it out. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts. Riley O'Brien came in for the ninth and earned the save by keeping the Padres off the board. The Cardinals won 3-2 in a game that came down to one big hit. St. Louis improved to 39-31 while San Diego fell to 37-34. Both teams were fighting hard for playoff position in a competitive division.