Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 8, Padres 5
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals got their first chance to roll out their new-look bullpen on Saturday night trying to protect a late-inning lead.
So far, so good.
Michael McGreevy, who survived a shaky start, turned over a 6-4 lead to the bullpen in the seventh inning and Kyle Leahy and JoJo Romero combined to record the final nine outs and complete the win over the Padres in San Diego.
Leahy retired all five of the hitters he faced before Romero took over with two outs in the eighth. He gave up a single to Jackson Merrill but then got out of the inning.
After the Cardinals picked up two insurance runs in the top of the ninth, Romero walked the leadoff hitter who later scored on a two-out, two-strike single by Freddy Fermin, the ninth-place hitter.
That brought Fernado Tatis Jr. to the plate but his bid to narrow the gap died at the wall in right field for the final out of the game.
The save was the first of the season for Romero and the fifth of his career. Of the Cardinals 26 saves this season coming into Saturday night, 24 of them were recorded by the three relievers the team traded this week – 21 by Ryan Helsley, 2 by Phil Maton and 1 by Steven Matz.
Their other saves this season were one each by Gordon Graceffo and Andre Granillo.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had scored one run in their previous 31 innings before breaking out with four runs in the fourth, rallying from a 4-0 deficit. The big blow was a three-run homer from Pedro Pages which followed a double by Willson Contreras and singles by Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman … Winn put the Cardinals ahead with a two-run double in the fifth … The two insurance runs in the ninth came on a bases-loaded single by Alec Burleson and a sacrifice fly from Contreras.
On the mound: Pitching against the team he grew up cheering for in southern California, McGreevy allowed four runs on six hits in the first three innings but was then able to shut out the Padres on just one hit over the next three innings. He walked one and struck out four in his six innings.
Key stat: The Cardinals improved their record to 47-2 when leading after the seventh inning. The only team with a better record is the Phillies at 51-2.
Worth noting: Lars Nootbaar was activated from the injured list after missing the last 15 games because of soreness in his ribs and was 1-of-5 … To make room for Nootbaar on the roster Jose Fermin was optioned to Memphis. Fermin had appeared in 12 games, mostly coming off the bench. In the three games he started since July 1 he was 3-of-11 with two doubles and his first career home run.
Up next: Andre Pallante will get the start in the final game of the series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. St. Louis time.
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