You could make a case that Tuesday night’s 10–7 loss was the worst of the season for the 33–27 St. Louis Cardinals. There are arguments both for and against that, but this one certainly stings.
After falling behind 2–0 in the first inning, the Cardinals exploded for seven runs across the second and third innings. They chased Royals starter Michael Lorenzen early and held a 7–2 lead with 18 outs to go.
That’s when things unraveled.
Andre Pallante wasn’t sharp. In the fifth, after recording the first out easily, he gave up a solo home run to Nick Loftin—his first of the season—to make it 7–3. Then, three consecutive singles brought Bobby Witt Jr. to the plate with the bases loaded. Witt, who has tormented the Cardinals since debuting, lined a 3–2 pitch to left for a two-run single, cutting the lead to 7–5.
That was the end of Pallante’s night. His final line: 4.1 innings, 7 hits, 7 earned runs, and 2 strikeouts.
Steven Matz took over and nearly escaped, getting a deep fly out before Vinnie Pasquantino tied the game with a two-run double. Then, longtime Cardinals nemesis Salvador Perez delivered an RBI single to give Kansas City the lead. Matz took the loss, going 1.1 innings with 3 hits and 2 runs allowed. Kyle Leahy surrendered another run in the sixth, and the Royals bullpen locked things down the rest of the way.
In total, the Kansas City bullpen went 6.1 scoreless innings.
Silver Linings, But Not Enough
St. Louis collected 12 hits, but only five came after the third inning. Offensively, Nolan Gorman hit a home run, and Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Alec Burleson (also with a homer) all contributed, but the bats went cold down the stretch.
Mikolas Looks to Halt the Slide
The Cardinals have now dropped three of their last four. They’ll turn to Miles Mikolas (4–2, 3.90 ERA) in Game 2 of the series to stop the skid. He’ll be opposed by 25-year-old Noah Cameron, a St. Joseph, Missouri native who’s impressed in his first four big-league starts. Cameron is 2–1 with a sparkling 1.05 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and 8 walks. In his last outing, he tossed 6.1 innings of one-run ball against the Reds.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CST at Busch Stadium.
Go Cardinals!
