Wednesday’s Game Report: Reds 6, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
It wasn’t until Andre Pallante threw his 96th pitch of the day, which came with two outs in the fifth inning, that the Cardinals bullpen began to stir.
By then, it was too late to keep Pallante and the Cardinals from another loss, in the final game of the series against the Reds on Wednesday at Busch Stadium.
Pallante gave up a three-run homer to Spencer Steer in the fourth, following back-to-back walks, and threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth that produced the fourth run for the Reds.
Pallante finished with 102 pitches over five innings, the 10th time this season a Cardinals starter threw 100 or more pitches but only the second time it happened in a five-inning outing.
The loss dropped Pallante’s record for the season to 6-15. Since he defeated the Reds on June 20, Pallante has won only one of 15 starts, going 1-12 with two no-decisions.
With nine games left in the season, the Cardinals need to win eight of them to finish above .500 and must go 7-2 to finish at .500 and avoid a losing season.
Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Alec Burleson had two of the Cardinals’ five hits, a first-inning home run and a double in the fourth. The home run was his 18th of the year and only the third by a Cardinal in the first inning at home this season. The others came from Lars Nootbaar on March 31 and from Burleson on June 21 … Their other run scored in the sixth on a two-base throwing error by Elly De La Cruz … The other hits were a single by Jimmy Crooks in the fifth, a single by Thomas Saggese in the seventh and a single by Nootbaar in the eighth … Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker each struck out three times … Nolan Arenado was 0-of-4 and finished his first three games since returning from the IL with two hits in 11 at-bats … The Cardinals were 0-of-8 with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Pallante allowed the four runs on six hits and three walks. He has surrendered four or more runs in seven of his last eight starts … Jorge Alcala pitched around two hits in the sixth but Matt Svanson gave up the final two runs in the seventh, both scoring on a single by Steer … Ryan Fernandez and Gordon Graceffo retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth.
Key stat: Victor Scott II stole his 33rd base of the season, the most by a Cardinal since Edgar Renteria stole 34 bases in 2003. Nobody else on the team has more than nine (Winn) and combined the rest of the Cardinals have 52 stolen bases and have been caught stealing 21 times. The only NL teams with fewer stolen bases are the Rockies, Braves and Giants.
Worth noting: The Cardinals decided to shut down Willson Contreras for the season because of the biceps strain in his right arm. “It can get worse if he tries to push through it,” said manager Oli Marmol. Burleson will get the bulk of starts at first base over the final nine games … Jose Fermin was recalled from Memphis; in the last six days he has been optioned (when Brendan Donovan returned), recalled (when Masyn Winn went on the IL), optioned (when Arenado returned) and recalled with the Contreras move. Fermin said he drove from St. Louis to Memphis on Tuesday, played Tuesday night and after the game was told he was going back to St. Louis, so he got back in his car and drove to St. Louis, arriving about 2:30 a.m.
Up next: The Cardinals will have the day off on Thursday before their final three home games of the year beginning Friday night, against the Brewers. Sonny Gray is the scheduled starter.
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