Dustin May Goes the Distance as Cardinals Blank Padres
Cardinals 3, Padres 0
Dustin May Goes the Distance as Cardinals Blank Padres
The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals needed a clean night from their pitching staff.
Dustin May gave them more than that.
May delivered a complete-game shutout Monday night at Busch Stadium, carrying the Cardinals to a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of their three-game series.
After a rough weekend in Minnesota where the bullpen was asked to cover too many stressful innings, May gave St. Louis exactly what it needed — nine innings, no runs, and a rare night off for the relief corps.
This was not just a good start. This was the kind of start that changes the feel of a series.
May controlled the Padres from the beginning, working quickly, filling the strike zone, and never allowing San Diego to build any real pressure. The Padres managed just one hit, drew only one walk, and spent most of the night trying to find solid contact against a pitcher who had complete command of the game.
The final inning said it all.
With the game still on the line and the bullpen quiet, May came back out for the ninth and finished what he started. San Diego went three up, three down, and the Cardinals walked off with one of their cleanest wins of the season.
That is a winner.
Offensively, the Cardinals did not need a big night. They needed just enough.
The breakthrough came in the fourth inning. Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn reached base, setting the table for Jimmy Crooks. The rookie catcher delivered, driving a double to center field that scored both runners and gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
It was the kind of swing that plays bigger in a tight, low-scoring game. With May dealing, two runs felt like more than two.
The Cardinals added insurance in the fifth. Iván Herrera reached and Alec Burleson followed with a double to right field, bringing Herrera home and pushing the lead to 3-0. Burleson continues to be one of the most dependable bats in this lineup, and his RBI double gave May a little extra breathing room.
Not that May needed much.
The Padres came into the series as a club with postseason ambitions, but Monday night belonged completely to the Cardinals’ starter. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado, Gavin Sheets, and the rest of the San Diego lineup never found a rhythm. May kept them off balance, forced weak contact, and did not let the game drift into one of those late-inning bullpen adventures that have become a little too familiar lately.
That may be the biggest story of the night.
The Cardinals did not have to piece together the final nine outs. They did not have to ask three or four relievers to protect a slim lead. They did not have to survive a bases-loaded scare or a ninth-inning tightrope walk.
May took the baseball and carried it all the way home.
For a club trying to steady itself after a frustrating series loss in Minnesota, this was the right kind of answer. The Cardinals did not slug their way through trouble. They did not need late heroics. They leaned on starting pitching, timely hitting, and clean defense.
That formula still works.
Sometimes the old game is still the best game.
Start with a pitcher who throws strikes. Add a catcher who delivers in a big spot. Mix in a timely double from a reliable bat. Keep the defense clean. Let the starter finish what he began.
That was Monday night at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals beat the Padres, 3-0, and Dustin May made sure the bullpen could sit down, exhale, and enjoy the view.
The Cardinals opened the three-game set with exactly the kind of win they needed. It was clean, efficient, and built around starting pitching — a welcome change after a messy weekend in Minnesota.
May went the distance, the bullpen got the night off, Jimmy Crooks delivered the key hit, and Alec Burleson added the insurance.
The Padres went quietly.
The Cardinals won, 3-0.
That’s a winner.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.
Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary:
www.cardinalchronicle.com
Photo Credit: Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals | STL Facebook