Friday’s Game Report: Padres 3, Cardinals 1
The script was way too familiar for the Cardinals on Friday night in San Diego.
They got a quality start from Michael Wacha, but two solo home runs proved to be too much for their beleaguered offense to overcome.
In addition, the Cardinals saw their best player so far this season, Marcell Ozuna, have to come out of the game in the third inning after injuring two fingers when he dove back into first base on a pickoff throw. He will be re-evaluated on Saturday.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Cardinals, who have scored in four of their last 38 innings and in just two of their last 25 innings.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in the second but couldn’t score as Kolten Wong hit into a force out, Wacha struck out and Tommy Edman grounded out. Edman was originally called safe, which would have scored a run, but the call was overturned on a challenge by the Padres … Edman got his second consecutive start hitting leadoff but was 0-of-5 … Yadier Molina had three of the Cardinals’ nine hits and scored their only run on an infield single by Wacha in the fourth … The Cardinals were just 2-of-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base, including five in scoring position.
On the mound: Wacha shut out the Padres through five innings on just three hits, but then gave up back-to-back homers to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eric Hosmer with one out in the sixth that proved to be all the offense the Padres needed. Wacha allowed just six hits, walked one and struck out two over seven innings, his longest outing of the season … The Padres added an insurance run off Giovanny Gallegos in the eight, snapping his 15-inning scoreless streak.
Key stat: It was the 23rd time this season the Cardinals have scored two of fewer runs in a game and their record in those games fell to 3-20.
Worth noting: The Cardinals’ top two prospects, third baseman Nolan Gorman and outfielder Dylan Carlson, were named to the team of minor-league stars which will represent the National League in the Futures Game on July 7 in Cleveland. Carlson hit his 11th home run Friday night for Springfield … The team’s top pick in this year’s draft, lefthander Zack Thompson, made his pro debut for the GCL Cardinals on Friday. He allowed one unearned run in his one inning, striking out two.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start on Saturday night in the second game of the series.
