Cardinals 2, Padres 1: Friars fall to the Lizard King

Chase Headley went 0-4 tonight, including one double play, which is both emblematic of his season as a whole and the Padres performance tonight. The Friars had a measly five hits against a Cardinals pitching staff led by old friend Miles Mikolas. That’s right, the Lizard King is now a starter for St. Louis, and apparently he’s... good. He notched his fifth win of the season by holding the Padres to one run in almost seven innings of work. Jordan Lyles wasn’t ineffective by any means, allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings. But there was no offense, and the only thing keeping the Padres from being shut out was a home run from Raffy Lopez.

The Padres might be in extra innings right now if it weren’t for some sloppy first inning ball. Tommy Pham led off the game with a single. That’s not great, but it’s not the end of the world. But with one out, Lyles’s control seemed to slip. Pham went to second on a wild pitch, and a passed ball put him on third, allowing Jose Martinez to bring him home with a fly ball. The inning could have been much worse, as a single and a walk put another runner in scoring position, but Lyles escaped the first without allowing any more runs, and he’d follow with three more scoreless frames.

Pham was the thorn in San Diego’s side tonight, as he stung Lyles one more time in the fifth with a two-out solo shot to left. Franchy Cordero spent all night trying to spur a comeback, going 3-for-4 and raising his batting average to .281. It was his final hit that turned out to be the most frustrating. After leading off the seventh with a single, Headley hit into a double play, erasing one of the best scoring opportunities the team saw tonight. And, of course, right after Chase erased a runner, Lopez got a fastball right down the middle that he sent soaring over the center field fence.

It was a deeply frustrating loss, so it’s a good thing the Padres are having a Beerfest before tomorrow’s game. First pitch at 7:10 PM.