Pallante throws 7 strong innings as Cardinals beat Padres 3-2

St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar hits a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Andre Pallante threw seven strong innings, Blaze Jordan hit an RBI double and Nathan Church added an RBI single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Pallante (8-4) struck out six while giving up two runs on four hits, and Riley O’Brien earned his 18th save.

Lars Nootbaar opened the second inning with a walk before he scored on Jordan’s first double of the season. Church singled and Jordan gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead.

Nootbaar capped the Cardinal’s scoring with a sacrifice fly to center field in the fifth to put the Cardinals up 3-1.

JJ Wetherholt finished 3 for 4 with a walk for St. Louis — tying a season-high in hits for the fourth time this season. Wetherholt became the second rookie this season with 65+ hits and 10+ home runs.

Michael King (4-6) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Ty France hit an RBI single in the fifth that scored a run before being thrown out at second while trying to leg out a double. Jackson Merrill had a one-run double in the sixth that scored Fernando Tatis Jr. but that was it for the Padres to cap a four-hit night.

The Cardinals became the fifth National League team to reach 40 wins this season.

Up next

RHP Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.64 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals, while the Brewers have yet to announce a starter for the series finale on Wednesday.

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