Andre Pallante did what the St. Louis Cardinals asked him to do. He was lights out sharp again, but something unusual happened. For once, the Cardinals offense gave him some run support, but it took awhile. Misplays by the Reds didn’t hurt either.
The Cardinals got off to a fast start in the bottom of the 1st inning, but they frankly should have had more to show for it. JJ Wetherholt reached on an error from Elly De La Cruz on a ball up the middle that he mishandled. Jordan Walker reached on another ball that was misplayed by Cruz although this one technically was a single as it soared just barely above Cruz into short left field. Alec Burleson then singled to left which surprisingly scored JJ Wetherholt as he and the Reds appeared surprised that he got the go sign from Pop Warner at third base giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.
That would sadly be the only runs the Cardinals would get in the 1st as Iván Herrera struck out and then Lars Nootbaar hit into a double play. It was another moment of Déjà vu as St. Louis scored, but left a lot of runners in scoring position on the table. They would redeem themselves later, though.
The game would cruise along with the Cardinals hanging on to their narrow 1-0 lead while Andre Pallante was dealing. Through the top of the 6th inning, Andre only allowed 2 Reds hits while striking out 7 and walking just 1. This was as good as it gets for Pallante.
His offense would finally wake up in the bottom of the 6th inning. It started when JJ Wetherholt drew a leadoff walk. After Jordan Walker fouled out, the St. Louis offense erupted. Alec Burleson singled and then Iván Herrera doubled which scored both Wetherholt and Burleson giving the Cardinals some breathing room at 3-0.
Fortunately, they were just getting started. Lars Nootbaar walked followed by a single from Masyn Winn to right to load the bases. Bryan Torres got in on the fun as he singled to right making it 4-0 St. Louis. Blaze Jordan added his own single scoring Nootbaar and Winn giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. The final tally of the Cardinals 6th was a sacrifice bunt by Nathan Church which scored Bryan Torres upping the St. Louis lead to 7-0. It’s been way too long since I’ve been able to include such a large crooked number for the Cardinals. FINALLY.
The only remaining question Saturday night was whether the Cardinals bullpen could protect Pallante’s great start. Gordon Graceffo took over in the top of the 8th inning. He kept the game refreshingly drama-free keeping the Reds from mounting a threat in the 8th. The 9th inning was a bit more eventful with Gordon giving out a leadoff walk to De La Cruz followed by a single from Sal Stewart. The boo birds started raining down on Graceffo when he walked JJ Bleday to load the bases. He fortunately struck Suarez out looking with a nasty 88 mph changeup for the first out. That same changeup also fooled Stephenson for the second out. All Gordon needed to do was shut down Marte which he did getting a groundout for the final out and barely preserving the shutout.
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series Sunday afternoon as Kyle Leahy will start for the Cardinals. Lefty Andrew Abbott will take the mound for the dastardly Reds. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium with the TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.
