Red-hot Cardinals complete sweep of slumping Padres

[September 20, 2021] Edmundo Sosa, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson each drove in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals edged the visiting San Diego Padres 8-7 to complete their three-game sweep.

Tyler O'Neill scored three runs and drove in another for the Cardinals (79-69), who extended their winning streak to eight games.

Tommy Pham drove in three runs for Padres (76-73), who have lost eight of their last 10 to fall 3 1/2 games behind the Cardinals for the second National League wild card spot.

Cardinals starter J.A. Happ allowed three runs on four hits in four innings. Alex Reyes (9-8) earned the victory in relief and Giovanny Gallegos earned his 10th save.

Padres starter Jake Arrieta (5-14) retired just one of the six batters he faced before departing with a groin muscle strain. He allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and a walk.

The Cardinals took a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Tommy Edman led off with a double, Paul Goldschmidt hit a single, and O'Neill walked to load the bases.

Nolan Arenado lifted a fly ball to shallow center field that Fernando Tatis Jr. dropped for a run-scoring error. Carlson hit a sacrifice fly and Sosa added an RBI double before Arrieta departed.

Bader greeted reliever Craig Stammen with a two-run double to make it 5-0.

The Padres got one run back in the third inning on Tatis' RBI single.

They cut the lead to 5-3 in the fourth inning on Manny Machado's single, Austin Nola's double, Eric Hosmer's RBI groundout, and Wil Myers' RBI single off Happ's foot.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher J.A. Happ (34) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals pushed their lead to 7-3 in the fifth inning. Goldschmidt lined a double, O'Neill hit an RBI single, Arenado reached on an infield single, and Sosa dropped an RBI double into right field.

Pham's solo homer in the sixth cut the lead to 7-4, but the Cardinals made it 8-4 in the seventh with Carlson's RBI single.

Jake Cronenworth and Machado hit singles to open the eighth inning and Pham hit a two-run double. Hosmer's run-scoring grounder pulled San Diego to within 8-7.

--Field Level Media

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