ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Andre Pallante pitched seven strong innings and Riley O’Brien earned his 18th save as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals struck first in the second inning. Blaze Jordan doubled to left, scoring Lars Nootbaar, and Nathan Church singled to center to drive in Jordan, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead. San Diego answered in the fifth. Ty France singled to center, driving in Samad Taylor, cutting the deficit to 2-1. St. Louis regained a two-run edge in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Nootbaar that scored Ivan Herrera. In the sixth, Jackson Merrill doubled to center, scoring Fernando Tatis Jr. to make it 3-2, but the Padres could get no closer. Pallante (8-4) allowed two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts over seven innings. Michael King (4-6) took the loss, allowing three runs in 4 1/3 innings. O’Brien worked a perfect ninth for the save. Attendance was 29,604. Time of game was 2:43. The Cardinals improved to 40-31, while the Padres fell to 37-35.

ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Andre Pallante pitched six innings of four-hit ball, and Riley O’Brien worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium III. Pallante improved to 8-4, striking out six and walking two while allowing two runs. O’Brien, who entered with one out in the eighth and retired all three batters he faced, closed the door on the Padres to secure his 18th save in 20 opportunities. Michael King took the loss for San Diego, dropping to 4-6 after surrendering three runs on six hits over five innings. The Cardinals jumped on King early. In the second inning, Lars Nootbaar drew a leadoff walk to start the frame. After Masyn Winn flied out and Jimmy Crooks grounded out, Blaze Jordan ripped a double to left field, scoring Nootbaar to put St. Louis on the board. Nathan Church followed with a single to center that brought home Jordan, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage. San Diego’s offense struggled to generate any threat against Pallante through the first four innings. The Padres managed only a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the sixth inning, but their first hit had not come until the fifth. In the top of the fifth, Samad Taylor singled on a ground ball that deflected off Pallante. Ty France then lined a single to center, scoring Taylor from first. France attempted to take second on the throw home but was thrown out by center fielder Nathan Church to catcher Iván Herrera and then to shortstop Masyn Winn, ending the inning. The run cut the Padres’ deficit to 2-1. St. Louis answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Iván Herrera was hit by a pitch to lead off. Alec Burleson singled to center, moving Herrera to second. After Jordan Walker flied out to deep center, Nootbaar lifted a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Herrera to score, pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1. The Padres refused to fold. In the top of the sixth, Tatis Jr. singled to right field. Jackson Merrill followed with a sharp double to center that scored Tatis, trimming the margin to 3-2. Merrill’s double, his 13th of the season, was the last hit San Diego would muster. From there, the Cardinals’ bullpen took over. Pallante was lifted after the sixth, and left-hander JoJo Romero pitched a scoreless seventh. O’Brien entered in the eighth after a walk and a hit batter, but he induced a lineout from Alec Burleson to escape the inning. In the ninth, O’Brien set down the Padres in order, retiring Tatis on a groundout, Merrill on a flyout and Machado on a walk before Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the game. The Padres managed only four hits in the contest, all singles except Merrill’s double. St. Louis collected eight hits, with Jordan, Church and JJ Wetherholt each recording two hits. Wetherholt singled twice and walked once. Blaze Jordan’s double was the only extra-base hit for the Cardinals. Defensively, Church’s throw to cut down Ty France at second in the fifth inning kept the Padres from tying the game and preserved the Cardinals’ lead. The Padres also had a potential rally thwarted in the sixth when Manny Machado struck out swinging after Merrill’s double, stranding the tying run at second. King settled down after the second inning, retiring eight of the next 10 batters he faced before the Cardinals struck again in the fifth. The Padres’ bullpen, led by Wandy Peralta, held St. Louis scoreless over the final three innings, but the offense could not produce the equalizer. The victory improved the Cardinals to 40-31, while the Padres fell to 37-35. Attendance was 29,604, and the game lasted 2 hours, 43 minutes. Tuesday’s game was the second of a three-game series between the two teams. St. Louis won 3-0 on Monday, and the Padres had taken the previous two head-to-head meetings at Petco Park in May. The series concludes Wednesday afternoon. The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the fifth inning. San Diego had finally broken through against Pallante, pulling within a run. But the Cardinals immediately responded in the bottom half, with Nootbaar’s sacrifice fly restoring a two-run lead. The Padres again answered in the sixth, but the bullpen held them there. St. Louis’ ability to answer the Padres’ initial run proved decisive. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of St. Louis 6, San Diego 4. The ELO system gave the Cardinals a 50.40 percent probability to win. The Padres had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5, and the total of five runs went over the over-under line of 8.

ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals open a two-game series Tuesday night at Busch Stadium III, the clubs meeting for the first time since a May set in San Diego. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CDT under cloudy skies with temperatures near 74 degrees. San Diego (37-33) sends right-hander Michael King (4-5, 3.88 ERA) to the mound. King is seeking his first win since May 27, a stretch of three starts. The Padres are 5-7 in his outings this season. St. Louis (38-31) counters with right-hander Andre Pallante (7-4, 3.21 ERA). Pallante has won his last three decisions and the Cardinals are 9-4 when he starts. He has not faced San Diego this season. The Padres won the season series against the Cardinals, taking three of four in San Diego from May 7-10. The clubs played a scoreless tie through nine innings Monday in a game that was called due to rain and will not be made up. San Diego enters having won four of its last five games, including a 5-2 victory Sunday at Baltimore. Right-hander Walker Buehler (6-4) pitched five innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts. Catcher Rodolfo Durán went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, and reliever Mason Miller struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Buehler, a player to watch for the Padres, has been sharp of late. Over his last three starts, the right-hander has allowed three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings (1.72 ERA) with 15 strikeouts. He is not scheduled to pitch in this series but could be an option out of the bullpen. For St. Louis, right-hander Michael McGreevy (3-6) is a player to watch despite not starting Tuesday. McGreevy threw six innings Sunday at Minnesota, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in a 5-4 loss. In five May starts, he posted a 4.30 ERA but held opponents to a .244 batting average. St. Louis has lost four of its last five games. Shortstop JJ Wetherholt went 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs in Sunday’s loss, and reliever George Soriano struck out three in 1 2/3 innings. The Interstat game simulator projects a 6-4 St. Louis victory. San Diego is a -1.5 run favorite on the run line, and the over/under is set at 8 runs. Following Tuesday’s game, the teams meet again Wednesday afternoon to conclude the brief series. San Diego then travels to Texas for a three-game weekend set, while St. Louis heads to Kansas City for two games Thursday and Friday.