ST. LOUIS—Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking RBI single in a two-run seventh inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7–5 on Tuesday night for their third consecutive win.
Manny Machado homered and Luis Arraez had three hits for San Diego. Yuki Matsui (4–2) pitched an inning for the win, and Tanner Scott handled the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.
Padres right-hander Dylan Cease threw 96 pitches in 4 1/3 innings on a night when the game-time temperature was announced at 98 degrees. He was charged with four runs and seven hits.
“It was hot, but it wasn’t something that was on my mind or anything like that.” Cease said. “I was just out of sync today. I have to figure out the way I was and get back to it.”
Paul Goldschmidt homered for St. Louis in its third loss in four games. Miles Mikolas permitted four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth to take a 5–4 lead. Lars Nootbaar chased Cease with an RBI single before Goldschmidt greeted Bryan Hoeing with a two-run shot to left-center field for his 20th homer.
“I felt like our approach was good,“ Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol said, talking about facing Cease. ”We did a lot of good things but that extra push got him off the hook.
“I felt like several times you could have buried him at one point in that game and created a big enough gap where it’s difficult for them to come back. I felt like our inability to come through in that situation was tough.”
The Padres responded in the seventh. Mason McCoy walked and advanced to second on Arraez’s single before taking third as part of a double steal. McCoy scampered home on Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly, and Arraez scored on Cronenworth’s hit on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against left-hander John King (3–3).
“I trust him,” Padres Manager Mike Shildt said of Cronenworth, who bats from the left side. “You know he’s going to take a quality at-bat. He wants big moments. So, it was either Croney versus a guy that has been out and coming back out, versus a guy coming in fresh and [Donovan] Solano.”
Machado led off San Diego’s four-run second with his 22nd homer. It was his ninth homer in his past 27 games.
Jackson Merrill doubled and scored on Luis Campusano’s single. McCoy drove in David Peralta with a groundout, and Arraez singled home Campusano for a 4–2 lead.
“The team’s grinding,” Merrill said. “We don’t want to lose, and whatever it takes.”
The Cardinals had jumped in front with two runs in the first. Masyn Winn scored on a wild pitch from Cease, and Luken Baker added a sacrifice fly.
