CINCINNATI — Trying again to get back to the .500 mark, the spinning wheel the Cardinals have used to pick a fifth starter landed on Andre Pallante on Wednesday.
It turned out to be a lucky spin.
Pallante, making his first start in the majors since July 31, 2022, shut out the Reds on just three hits over six innings and the Cardinals hung on to get the win in Cincinnati.
The Cardinals reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 16, when they were 9-9. They had been 0-4 since then when they had a chance to get back to that mark.
The win came in their 54th game of the season, reaching the one-third mark with a 27-27 record.
Here is how Wednesdy’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals got home runs from Matt Carpenter and Nolan Gorman, who also drove in their first run of the game with a double … It was the first homer of the season for Carpenter and the team-leading 10th for Gorman, who also homered on Tuesday night … Masyn Winn had three hits and an RBI, extending his streak to 18 games. It’s the second longest streak by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only a 25-game streak by Joe McEwing in 1999 … Brendan Donovan also had three of the Cardinals’ 12 hits … Alec Burleson got the Cardinals final RBI when he walked with the bases loaded in the ninth inning … The Cardinals won on Tuesday night and Wednesday despite going a combined 2-of-18 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound: Pallante walked two of the first three hitters he faced before a double play ended the first inning. He retired nine hitters in a row before Jake Fraley singled with two outs in the fourth. Pallante allowed two more hits in the sixth before getting out of the inning …. Kyle Leahy gave up a run in the seventh and Andrew Kittredge allowed a run in the eighth … Ryan Helsley allowed a leadoff single and a walk in the ninth, leading to a run, but retired Elly De La Cruz, representing the winning run, on a groundout to end the game and earn his 18th save.
Key stat: Winn’s three hits raised his average for the season to .308. During his 18-game streak, Winn has gone 23-of-61, a .377 mark, with two homers, six doubles and 11 RBIs.
Worth noting: The win was the seventh in their last eight games for the Cardinals … Nolan Arenado had the day off, a decision that had been made before the start of the road trip, to also take advantage of Thursday’s day off … After Thursday, the Cardinals will have only one scheduled day off between Friday and June 21 … Carpenter’s homer was the 23rd of his career against the Reds in 163 games … Travis Honeyman, the Cardinals’ third-round selection in last year’s draft from Boston College, made his pro debut on Wednesday for the Complex League rookie team. He went 0-of-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Honeyman had missed all of last season because of a shoulder injury suffered before the draft.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will spend the day off on Thursday in Philadelphia before beginning a three-game series on Friday night against the Phillies, who have the best record in the National League. Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn are the scheduled starters for the Cardinals.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
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