ST. LOUIS — For the first four innings on Tuesday night, Andre Pallante was able to pitch out of one jam after another and keep the Reds off the scoreboard.
He wasn’t that lucky in the fifth.
A leadoff walk got him in trouble again and this time the Reds put together a three-run inning that provided all of the offense they needed to beat the Cardinals in the opening game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals have lost the opening game in eight of their last nine series dating back to Aug. 12.
The Cardinals are now at .500 again, with a 72-72 record and are now 6 ½ games out of the third wild-card spot in the playoffs, trailing the Mets, Braves and Cubs with 18 games remaining in the season.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Only two runners reached second base for the Cardinals in the first eight innings … In the ninth, they opened the inning with consecutive singles from Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado before Lars Nootbaar walked to load the bases, but all of the runners stayed put as the next three hitters – Jordan Walker, Thomas Saggese and Matt Carpenter – struck out … That left the team 0-of-6 with a runner in scoring position, and all six at-bats were strike outs … Brendan Donovan returned to the lineup after missing the last two games because of an infection in his foot and went 3-of-4 … Saggese made his major-league debut, starting at shortstop, and was hitless in four at-bats.
On the mound: Pallante allowed seven baserunners through the first four innings, pitching around four hits and three walks … A wild pitch and a third stolen base in the game helped the Reds score their runs in the fifth … Ryan Fernandez, John King and Chris Roycroft combined to allow only one hit and one walk over the final four innings.
Key stat: The Cardinals have scored a total of seven runs in their last four games, scoring in just four of a combined 35 innings.
Worth noting: Masyn Winn got only his second day off since June 29, the other coming on Aug. 10. Winn had just four hits in 40 at-bats in his last nine games … To make room for Saggese’s promotion, Victor Scott II was optioned to Memphis. Manager Oli Marmol said the need for another infielder outweighed keeping Scott on the roster, especially when they expect Michael Siani to get most of the starts in center field.
Looking ahead: Lance Lynn will come off the injured list on Wednesday night to make his first start since July 30. The Cardinals will have to make another move before the game to add him to the active roster.
