Nothing separated the teams after the sixth inning. Andre Pallante had done enough by then, and St. Louis made it stand. The Cardinals defeated the Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, with the margin built in the second inning and defended the rest of the way.
Pallante was the story. He worked seven innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 6 without issuing a walk, throwing 92 pitches. He picks up his eighth win against four losses, carrying a 3.87 ERA. Riley O'Brien handled the ninth, walking one but allowing nothing, earning his 18th save of the season.
St. Louis scored twice in the second. Blaze Jordan doubled to left, scoring Lars Nootbaar, and Nathan Church singled to right to bring Jordan home. The Cardinals added a run in the fifth when Nootbaar hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Ivan Herrera. San Diego answered in the fifth when Taylor scored on a single by Ty France, then pulled within one in the sixth when Fernando Tatis scored on a double to center by Jackson Merrill. That was as close as the Padres would get.
Michael King lasted just 4.1 innings for San Diego, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs on 3 walks with 1 strikeout. He falls to 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA. The Padres managed only 4 hits on the night and could not sustain their late push.
St. Louis moves to 38-31, sitting second in their division. San Diego, entering on a two-game winning streak, falls to 37-33.