SAN DIEGO — If the first two games of the series against their former manager became a showcase of how crisp the Cardinals can play and the ways they can win, the finale was San Diego’s turn.
Mike Shildt’s Padres avoided a sweep by the Cardinals by eking out just enough offense to stay ahead for the entire game and turning timely double plays to assure they did. San Diego hit four batters and allowed five hits through the first eight innings, but at each turn, the Cardinals seemed ready to threaten a comeback, the Padres spun a double play. Neither side capitalized on opportunities given them by walks and free bases, but the Padres’ resolute defense ended innings before they unraveled.
They held on against the Cardinals’ last threat to win 3-2.
In the ninth, Ivan Herrera singled with one out, and veteran Brandon Crawford drew a walk to nudge the tying run into scoring position. Padres reliever Randy Suarez retired Alec Burleson and Victor Scott II in order to secure the win.
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The Cardinals had several chances to return home for their opener at Busch Stadium with a winning record. It would have taken a sweep of the Padres to pull that off. They’ll have to happy-fly home for the first time this season having won the series and gone 3-4 on the seven-day trip to begin the regular season on the road.
In his second start of the year, lefty Zack Thompson allowed three runs on five hits. He walked four batters, three of them in the first inning, and he struck out five.
Padres starter Joe Musgrove struck out seven in his six strong innings. The blend of his pitches and the scattering of hit batters gave the Cardinals offense a disjointed look.
San Diego finished the game 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position, missing out time and time again with a chance to open up the lead. When Scott struck out to end the game, the Cardinals finished 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Bruises hurt, then help, but not enough
When Padres reliever Wandy Peralta hit back-to-back batters with pitches in the eighth inning, he did more than spur the Cardinals to a potential game-altering rally.
He continued a trend.
The Padres hit four Cardinals through the first eight innings of Wednesday’s series finale. It appeared that Scott took a pitch into his torso. Brendan Donovan was hit twice, including once on the elbow. Willson Contreras got hit by a pitch on the hand, and he was able to stay in the game to then later draw a walk in the eighth inning. It was the 10th time in franchise history that the Cardinals had four batters hit by pitches in a single game.
The record for HBPs was five set back in August 2017, also against San Diego.
The bruises did eventually show up on the scoreboard.
Peralta hit Scott to lead off the eighth inning. Scott reached third and then raced home when an errant throw at second base kept the Padres from turning a double play. Donovan was out at second on the play. That meant only one of the four batters plunked scored. San Diego gave the Cardinals’ middle of the order a crack with go-ahead runners on base, the tying run in scoring position, and that’s when Suarez got a double play.
It was the third turned at second base for the Padres of the game.
Base running stumbles
A day after two smart base running plays sped the Cardinals toward a victory, they tripped over attempts to steal second and stumbled out of a potential rally.
In the fourth inning, the Cardinals were able to cut the Padres’ lead in half, but trying to sneak their way into scoring position may have cost them the chance to tie the game. The Cardinals had three hits in the inning, including a double, but they scored only one run and did not leave any runner on base. Two of the inning's three outs came at second base.
Donovan and Nolan Arenado were both thrown out trying to steal the base. Donovan took off on a full-count pitch with Paul Goldschmidt at the plate. Arenado had a read on the pitcher and a good jump; he was met with a better throw. The Cardinals challenged the call on Arenado’s attempt because it looked like the cleanup hitter got the toe of his cleat to the base ahead of the tag. Video review completed in New York at Major League Baseball’s headquarters decided that there was not enough evidence to overturn the call on the field, and the Cardinals had their second caught-stealing of the inning.
Arenado delivered the Cardinals’ run in the inning with a two-out single that scored Contreras and trimmed the Padres’ lead to 2-1.
The outs at second base, including one with a strikeout at one, coupled with two double-play groundouts in the first five innings to neutralize rallies.
Against Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, the Cardinals got the leadoff hitter on base twice, had a base runner with one out less in an inning three times. And not once did that base runner score.
Thompson invites more trouble than he allows
At one point in the first inning, Thompson threw seven consecutive balls. He not only walked the bases loaded, but with the bases loaded he walked a batter on four pitches.
The Padres had several swings at pouncing on the lefty for a big lead, but they left the inning with only one run — the run Thompson pushed home.
In a way, Thompson’s wildness unplugged the Padres.
They had so few strikes to hit after he got two outs.
Xander Bogaerts opened the inning with a single and he stole second. Then he waited for the parade of walks to push him home. Jurickson Profar drew the RBI walk to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. By then, however, the middle of the Padres order — Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado — had provided the inning two flyouts and presented Thompson an escape. He just had to find the strike zone to get it. Thompson struck out Jose Asocar on a cutter to leave the bases loaded and find a way free of the mess having allowed the one run.
Fernandez makes MLB debut
The Cardinals eventually had to abandon the plan to get rookie reliever Ryan Fernandez the ideal spot to make his major league debut. The game had other ideas.
For the entirety of the road trip, manager Oliver Marmol described wanting to get the right-hander into a lower-leverage spot for his first appearance. How does a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth inning on the road sound? Not so low leverage. Fernandez, the last of the Cardinals on the season-opening active roster to appear in a game, struck out three in a scoreless eighth to give the Cardinals a chance in the top of the ninth.
A Rule 5 pick out of Boston’s organization, Fernandez scattered a hit and a walk in his first big league inning around striking out the side.