Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill each went 3-for-5 with two RBIs as the visiting San Diego Padres earned a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday to avoid a series sweep.
After collecting just five combined hits over the first two games, the Padres matched their season high with 14 hits in the getaway game. Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Manny Machado drove in a run.
Merrill, who matched his season high for hits, put the game away with a two-run home run that capped a three-run ninth inning off Cardinals reliever Chris Roycroft.
San Diego led from the opening inning after a Machado sacrifice fly for a run off Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy (5-4).
The Padres added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Bogaerts’ single with one out in the fourth scored Machado for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, Tatis hit a rocket to center field that Eric Church misjudged. The double scored Will Wagner.
Griffin Canning (1-5) kept the Cardinals in check for his first win with the Padres. Entering the game following a scoreless first inning from opener Bradgley Rodriguez, Canning scattered four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked three, but gave up just one run thanks in part to the Padres’ defense.
The Cardinals had runners at second and third with one out in the fifth when Ivan Herrera hit a grounder to first baseman Ty France. Playing even with the bag, France threw home to get Blaze Jordan.
Alec Burleson followed with a single to score Nathan Church and cut the deficit to 3-1, but Canning got Jordan Walker to ground into a force out and end the threat.
The Padres’ bullpen took it from there as three relievers limited the Cardinals to a hit batter and a single over the last 3 2/3 innings. Both of those runners were retired on double plays.
Leahy went six innings for the second time this season. He gave up three runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
