MINNEAPOLIS — With Lance Lynn and Steven Matz getting close to returning from the injured list, the Cardinals are soon going to have some pitching decisions to make.
Andre Pallante continued to make his case on Friday night about why one of those decisions should be to keep him in the starting rotation.
Pallante allowed only one hit after the second inning, retiring 13 batters in a row, to pitch the Cardinals to a series-opening win against the Twins in Minneapolis.
The win was the third in a row for the Cardinals, their longest streak since they won four consecutive games in June. It also pulled them back to the .500 mark at 64-64 for the season.
Three of the five Minnesota hits off Pallante came in the second inning, when they scored their only run. He worked seven innings, walking two and striking out five.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals tied their season high with four stolen bases, and three of them led to runs. Victor Scott II stole second in the third and scored on a single b Masyn Winn; Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan pulled off a double steal in the fourth and both scored on a double by Lars Nootbaar … Donovan’s 10th homer of the year increased the lead to 4-1 in the sixth and the Cardinals added two insurance runs in the eighth when Scott II drew a bases-loaded walk and Winn delivered his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly … The Cardinals drew nine walks in the game, three by Luken Baker, but only one of them ended up scoring.
On the mound: Pallante recorded 10 groundball outs as he worked seven innings for the second consecutive start, throwing 99 pitches … John King turned in a 1-2-3 eighth with three more groundball outs before the Twins finally ended a streak of 16 consecutive outs when Ryan Fernandez issued a leadoff walk in the ninth before retiring the next three batters.
Key stat: In his last three starts Pallante has allowed a total of four earned runs in 19 2/3 innings. His ERA in five August starts of 3.33 is the lowest of the Cardinals starters.
Worth noting: Pitching prospect Quinn Mathews retired the first 19 batters he faced on Friday night in a start at Springfield against Tulsa, losing his perfect game on a home run with one out in the seventh. He came out of the game after a career-high 7 2/3 innings, allowing two hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts … After going hitless in his first game since going back to Triple A Memphis, Nolan Gorman had two hits on Friday night, including a home run.
Looking ahead: Sonny Gray will get the start on Saturday night against his former team.
