Sunday’s Game Report: Red Sox 9, Cardinals 3
By Rob Rains
Willson Contreras enjoyed his weekend back at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals? Not so much.
Contreras, facing the Cardinals for the first time since he was traded to Boston last winter, capped his big weekend with a four-hit day on Sunday to lead the Red Sox to their second win in the three-game series.
His four hits included a two-run homer in the first inning off Andre Pallante. He later drove in another run with one of his three singles.
For the weekend Contreras had six hits in 13 at-bats and drove in six of the Red Sox’ 18 runs.
Jordan Walker homered again for the Cardinals, his seventh in the first 15 games of the season and his sixth in the last eight games.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Walker’s homer came in his first at-bat, leading off the second inning. The Cardinals had only two more hits through the first five innings as they fell behind 7-1 … They added their second run the sixth when Ivan Herrera drew a one-out walk and later scored on Nolan Gorman’s sacrifice fly … Alec Burleson hit his second homer, and first since opening day, with one out in the eighth … Walker also singled in the sixth, raising his season average to .327 … JJ Wetherholt was 0-of-4, the first time he failed to reach base with either a hit or a walk in a game that he started this season.
On the mound: Andre Pallante allowed seven runs on 10 hits, including four runs in the fourth inning, as he needed 95 pitches to get through five innings … The seven earned runs and 10 hits each matched Pallante’s career highs … After George Soriano worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning, Jarad Shuster covered the final three innings, allowing the final two Boston runs in the ninth.
Key stat: Contreras and Trevor Story combined for more hits, eight, than the Cardinals had as a team, seven. It was only the second time since 2019 that two opponents each had four or more hits in a game at Busch Stadium, the first since Bo Bichette and George Springer did it for the Blue Jays in the 2023 season-opener.
Worth noting: Walker is the first Cardinal to hit seven or more homers in the first 15 games of the season since Albert Pujols hit 10 in 2006. The only other Cardinal with more than seven homers in the first 15 games was Scott Rolen with eight in 2004 … Herrera drew a walk for the 10th consecutive game, the longest streak by a Cardinal since Paul Goldschmidt walked in 12 consecutive games in 2020. The team record is a 14-game streak by Jack Clark in 1987 … Masyn Winn was held out of the lineup for the second consecutive game as he recovers from being by a pitch in his left leg on Friday night.
Up next: The Cardinals will welcome another American League team, the Cleveland Guardians, to Busch Stadium Monday night for the opener of a three-game series. Matthew Liberatore will get the start.
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