Pallante Sets the Tone as Cardinals Hold Off Padres, 3-2

The Cardinal Chronicle
Pallante Sets the Tone as Cardinals Hold Off Padres, 3-2
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals did not need a blowout Tuesday night.

They needed another professionaered a complete-game masterpiece against San Diego, Andre Pallante followed with seven strong innings of his own, and the Cardinals held off the Padres, 3-2, at Busch Stadium.

It was not flashy. It was not comfortable. It was not one of those games that gave the home crowd much room to breathe. But it was clean, timely, and built on the kind of starting pitching that changes the entire temperature of a series.

Pallante gave St. Louis exactly what it needed.

The right-hander worked seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking none and striking out six. He threw 92 pitches, 65 for strikes, and continued what has become a very steady run in the Cardinals’ rotation.

That is the important part.

The Cardinals have spent much of this season trying to stabilize the pitching picture, and over the past two nights against San Diego, they have received the old-fashioned formula: a starter taking the baseball deep into the game, limiting traffic, and handing a lead to the bullpen.

May set the bar Monday night. Pallante followed it Tuesday.

That is how good teams stack wins.

The Cardinals gave Pallante early support in the second inning. Lars Nootbaar worked a walk, and rookie Blaze Jordan followed by driving a double to left field, scoring Nootbaar and giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

Jordan continues to look like he belongs in the moment. There will be growing pains. There always are with a young hitter getting his first real taste of the big leagues. But the bat does not look overwhelmed, and the moment does not appear too large. His double was not just another rookie highlight. It was an early run in a one-run game.

That matters.

Nathan Church followed with a single to right, bringing Jordan home and stretching the lead to 2-0. The Cardinals did not pile on from there, but they had given Pallante a cushion, and for most of the night, he made it stand.

San Diego finally broke through in the fifth. Samad Taylor singled, stole second, and scored when Ty France singled to center. But the Padres ran themselves out of more damage when France was thrown out trying to advance to second, with Church making the play from center field.

That play mattered as much as any swing in the game.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Cardinals answered.

Ivan Herrera reached base, moved into scoring position, and Nootbaar lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Herrera and pushing the lead back to 3-1. It was not a loud RBI, but it was the kind of situational at-bat that wins tight games in June.

The Padres made it tight again in the sixth when Fernando Tatis Jr. singled and Jackson Merrill doubled to center, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2.

That was the test.

Pallante did not flinch.

He finished the inning, returned for the seventh, and kept the Padres from tying the game. In a sport where starters are too often protected from the third time through a lineup like it is a haunted house, Pallante gave the Cardinals seven full innings and forced San Diego to earn everything.

The Padres did not.

While Pallante owned the mound, JJ Wetherholt kept setting the table.

Wetherholt finished 3-for-4 with a walk, giving the Cardinals another three-hit game from the top of the order. He did not drive in a run, but he gave St. Louis constant pressure and helped keep innings alive. His ability to reach base, handle velocity, and stay involved in the game continues to stand out.

The rookie has not just been surviving. He has been contributing.

Alec Burleson also extended his hitting streak to 16 games, continuing one of the steadiest offensive runs on the club. Burleson went 1-for-4, and while Tuesday night was not built around a big Burleson swing, his consistency has become one of the quiet engines of this lineup.

There is value in the player who shows up every night and gives the lineup something dependable.

Burleson has been that guy.

The Cardinals finished with eight hits and left 11 runners on base, so this was not a night where the offense cashed every opportunity. St. Louis went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, which kept San Diego within a swing deep into the game.

But in a 3-2 win, the difference is often not volume. It is timing.

Jordan doubled in a run. Church singled in a run. Nootbaar delivered the sacrifice fly. Pallante gave the Cardinals length. The bullpen protected the narrow lead.

That was enough.

The final line told the story clearly: Cardinals 3 runs, 8 hits, no errors; Padres 2 runs, 4 hits, no errors.

San Diego has now managed just two runs in two games at Busch Stadium after being shut out Monday night. That is not an accident. The Cardinals’ starters have taken control of this series and forced the Padres to play from behind.

This was not a runaway. It was a grinder.

But those wins count too.

For the Cardinals, the encouraging signs were easy to find. Pallante gave them seven innings. Wetherholt had another three-hit night. Burleson’s hitting streak reached 16 games. Blaze Jordan kept making noise with the bat. Nootbaar and Church delivered productive at-bats. And St. Louis found a way to win a tight game against a quality opponent.

That is a good night at the ballpark.

The Cardinals will try to finish off the series Wednesday afternoon, with Kyle Leahy scheduled to take the mound against San Diego right-hander Griffin Canning.

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Photo Credit: Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals | Lighthouse Media