St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres Box Score on Sep 07, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 8, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- Wil Myers hit a two-run homer, and Clayton Richard and three relievers combined to throw an 11-hit shutout Thursday night as the San Diego Padres blanked St. Louis 3-0 at Petco Park to salvage a win in the four-game series.

The Padres had been protecting a one-run lead since the first inning when Myers connected off Cardinals reliever Seung Hwan Oh with two outs in the seventh inning.

Carlos Asuaje opened the seventh with a single off reliever Zach Duke. Oh came on to retire the next two hitters. Myers then drove a 2-1 pitch 408 feet into the left-field seats.

Richard (7-13) held the Cardinals scoreless on five hits and a walk through six innings to get credit for the win. Left-hander Brad Hand struck out Dexter Fowler with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth to record his 16th save.

Through six innings, the only difference between Richard and Cardinals starter Lance Lynn was a first-inning run San Diego scored without getting the ball out of the infield.

Manuel Margot opened the game with a topper between the mound and third base that third baseman Alex Mejia couldn't cleanly field. Margot stole second and moved to third on Asuaje's sacrifice bunt.

Jose Pirela then topped another roller toward Mejia. Margot raced home as Pirela reached first with a single and advanced to second on Mejia's throwing error. After Yangervis Solarte hit a flyout, Myers reached on the inning's third infield single. Cory Spangenberg walked to load the bases before Lynn got the final out on a comebacker.

Although the Cardinals had six baserunners against Richard in as many innings, two were erased on double plays. Richard had 11 ground-ball outs and five strikeouts. Only one out was recorded by an outfielder.

Lynn (10-7) allowed one run on six hits and three walks, with three strikeouts, over six innings. Over his past two starts, Lynn has allowed one run in 14 innings, but the Cardinals have failed to score while Lynn was pitching.

The Cardinals threatened to tie the game in the top of the seventh Thursday. After reliever Craig Stammen struck out the first two Cardinals, Greg Garcia and Breyvic Valera hit back-to-back singles. It was the first major league hit for Valera, who made his debut Tuesday night at Petco Park.

However, Stammen retired pinch hitter Tommy Pham on a liner to center.

NOTES: Manager Andy Green said the Padres plan to stick with a six-man rotation although they have two days off next week bookending a two-game series in Minnesota. "Some guys will get an extra day's rest and some will get two extra days," Green said. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said INF Matt Carpenter could return to the lineup Friday in St. Louis. Carpenter missed the final three games of the Padres series with a sore right shoulder. ... 2B Kolton Wong (back) won't start Friday but is expected to be back in the lineup over the weekend. Even when Wong returns, Matheny said the Cardinals would continue to utilize the glove of rookie 2B Alex Mejia late in games.