After going 4-2 on their six game road trip and sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati, the Cardinals came home and lost 8-3 to the Padres. Reggie Sanders drove in the first run of the game with a double that scored Jim Edmonds in the second inning.
San Diego took the lead in the fourth inning, when Brian Giles snapped an 0-for-22 slump with a three-run homer off Matt Morris to make it 3-1. Morris settled down and held the Padres in check while his teammates tied the game in the seventh inning. Mark Grudzielanek hit a solo homer and Roger Cedeno scored on a fielders choice.
But in the eighth, Giles struck again with an RBI single off reliever Ray King to score Mark Loretta and give the Padres a 4-3 lead. It proved to be the game-winning RBI.
The highlight for the Cardinals on Thursday was a second-inning triple play. With Giles on first and Phil Nevin on second, Ramon Hernandez hit a line drive to Albert Pujols, who stepped on first for the second out and threw to second base for the third out.
