Padres 3, Cardinals 0: Richard blanks Cards to prevent sweep

Let’s get the most important stuff out of the way at the top of this recap. Yes, the Dodgers did in fact lose their seventh game in a row, a 9-1 drubbing by the Rockies. Now that you have your daily dose of schadenfreude, you can add a sweet, sweet victory by our Padres to that good mood. Clayton Richard shut out the Cardinals for six innings, holding the first inning lead he was given. Wil Myers added some insurance in the seventh with his 25th homer of the year, and the bullpen wrapped up the evening to hold off a St. Louis sweep.

Manuel Margot picked up the first infield hit in a night full of close plays. After legging out that single, he swiped second. That set up Carlos Asuaje for a perfectly executed bunt that put the first run 90 feet from home. Jose Pirela dribbled one toward third to bring Margot home, and then moved into scoring position on a bad throw to first. Yet another infield hit courtesy of Myers put runners on the corners, and Cory Spangenberg walked to load the bases. Erick Aybar couldn’t do any more damage, but that one run was enough.

That didn’t stop the good guys from adding on, though. Asuaje led off the seventh with a single, and then two outs later Wil absolutely demolished the ball.

While the Cardinals struggled against Padres pitching most of the night, they did make things tense in ninth inning. Brad Hand retired Yadier Molina for the first out, but then got stung by back to back singles. He struck out pinch hitter Luke Voit to get the crowd on their feet, but another single from Carson Kelly put the tying run on first and brought Dexter Fowler to the plate. Thankfully, Hand got a grip and struck him out to end the game.

The Friars take a happy flight to Phoenix, where Jordan Lyles will get the start against the red-hot Diamondbacks. First pitch at 6:40 PM.