Sunday’s Game Report: Padres 9, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals hoped that Michael McGreevy’s first start as a member of the regular rotation would go as well as his spot starts had gone over the last two seasons.
It didn’t work out that way.
The Cardinals had a 6-1 record in games started by McGreevy over the last two years before he moved into the starting spot vacated by Erick Fedde for Sunday’s game against the Padres at Busch Stadium.
McGreevy, who grew up in southern California, was roughed up by his childhood favorites as he gave up seven runs on nine hits and failed to make it through the fifth inning.
The Cardinals split the four-game series with the Padres and fell back to a game over .500 for the season. The trading deadline is four days away, at 5 p.m. St. Louis time on Thursday.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: It was a tough offensive series for the Cardinals, who were held to a combined 14 hits in the final three games … Their only runs on Sunday came on a two-run homer from Alec Burleson, his 13th of the season, in the sixth inning after they had fallen behind 7-0 … They had only five other hits in the game, including a double from Burleson and one from Victor Scott II … They were 0-of-4 with a runner in scoring position on Sunday and 1-of-14 over the final three games of the series.
On the mound: McGreevy gave up two runs in the first inning, one in the third and four in the fourth. He walked two and struck out two before he came out of the game in the fifth … The Padres, who pounded out 16 hits, added their final two runs off Andre Granillo and John King.
Key stat: The two stars of the Padres, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., were a combined 17-of-33 in the series with Machado going 10-of-16 and Tatis Jr. 7-of-17.
Worth noting: The Cardinals found a taker for Fedde on Sunday after he had been designated for assignment. He was traded to the Braves for either cash considerations or a player to be named later … The loss dropped the Cardinals to 7-14 in July and they have been outscored 119-73 in the 21 games so far this month.
Up next: The Cardinals will open a three-game series on Monday night against the Marlins at Busch Stadium. Andre Pallante is the scheduled starter.
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