McGreevy Dominates, Cardinals Blank Padres 6-0 in San Diego

The Cardinal Chronicle
McGreevy Dominates, Cardinals Blank Padres 6-0 in San Diego
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals are starting to make a habit of walking into somebody else’s ballpark and making themselves comfortable.

Behind six shutout innings from Michael McGreevy and a six-run fifth inning that broke open a scoreless game, the Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 6-0 Friday night at Petco Park, taking the first two games of the four-game series and improving to 23-15 on the season.

St. Louis has outscored San Diego 8-1 through the first two games of the series, and Friday's win pushed the Cardinals to 13-5 on the road. The Cardinals carried Major League Baseball's best road record into the night and did nothing to damage the claim.

McGreevy was the story early and remained the story long after the Cardinals’ offense finally arrived. The right-hander allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, walked two, and struck out a career-high nine. He lowered his ERA to 2.19 and gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed — another quality start, another calm night from the rotation, and another reason to believe this club is more dangerous than it was being given credit for.

For four innings, the game had the look of a pitchers' duel. Griffin Canning kept the Cardinals quiet early, striking out four straight at one point and working around Ivan Herrera's early base hits. McGreevy matched him and then some, mixing his fastball with enough command and finish to keep the Padres from building anything.

San Diego’s best chance against McGreevy came in the fourth. Jackson Merrill opened the inning with a single to right, then moved to second when Xander Bogaerts grounded out. Manny Machado lined out to short before McGreevy walked Gavin Sheets and Fernando Tatis Jr., loading the bases with two outs.
That was the inning where the night could have turned.

Instead, McGreevy got Miguel Andujar to ground out to short, ending the threat and preserving the scoreless tie. It was the kind of inning good starters survive, and growing teams remember.

The Cardinals rewarded him one inning later.

Masyn Winn led off the fifth with a line-drive single up the middle, and Nathan Church followed with a high-hop infield hit that put runners at first and second. Cesar Prieto struck out, but Victor Scott II worked a key walk after a successful automated ball-strike challenge, loading the bases for JJ Wetherholt.

Wetherholt did what he has already shown he is capable of doing in big spots. The rookie sent a ball into right field that scored Church, Winn, and Scott, and when the ball got past Tatis Jr., Wetherholt kept running and came all the way around. What began as a bases-loaded swing turned into a four-run play, and just like that, the Cardinals had a 4-0 lead.

They were not finished.

Herrera followed with another base hit, continuing a four-hit night. Alec Burleson doubled, Jordan Walker walked to reload the bases, and San Diego went to the bullpen. Nolan Gorman greeted Yuki Matsui with a run-scoring single to right, scoring Herrera, and Winn later lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Burleson.

By the time the inning ended, St. Louis had turned a scoreless game into a 6-0 lead.

McGreevy made sure there was no immediate answer. He struck out Ramon Laureano to open the fifth, retired Freddy Fermin on a grounder to short, and struck out Sung-Mun Song to end the inning. In the sixth, he retired Merrill, Bogaerts, and Machado in order, striking out the final two batters of his night to set his new career high.

From there, the bullpen finished the job.

Gordon Graceffo took over in the seventh and retired the Padres in order, getting Sheets, Tatis Jr., and Andujar without trouble. He came back in the eighth and did it again, retiring Laureano, Fermin, and Song. Six up, six down for Graceffo, who protected the lead and kept the Padres from even pretending they had a rally coming.

Ryan Stanek handled the ninth, making his 18th appearance of the season. He opened the inning by overpowering Merrill, reaching back for 97 and 99 mph fastballs before finishing him for the strikeout. Bogaerts then flied out to Walker, and Machado flied out to right field to end it.

The Padres finished with one hit.

Herrera led the Cardinals’ offense with a four-hit night, continuing to look like one of the steadiest bats in the lineup. Burleson had two hits, including a double, and Walker reached twice on walks. Winn scored in the fifth and later added the sacrifice fly, while Church and Scott helped set the table for the inning that decided the game.

But the night belonged to McGreevy.

The Cardinals have been asking their rotation for stability, and McGreevy delivered more than that. He gave them dominance. He gave them length. He gave them six shutout innings on the road against a San Diego club that came into the night with the same record as St. Louis.

And once the Cardinals finally broke through, there was no looking back.

This was not a narrow escape. This was a road team taking control, a starter setting the tone, a rookie delivering the big swing, and a bullpen finishing the job without drama.

Stop betting against these Cardinals.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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