The St. Louis Cardinals are finally able to put together strong hitting and strong pitching and avoid being swept by the San Diego Padres. The Cards beat the Padres 8-3 at PETCO Park in San Diego.
P.J. Walters was excellent in his first Major League start of the season. He would throw five scoreless innings in just his second career start in the Majors. He would give up no runs, just four hits and would strike out four.
The Cardinals would use the long ball in the fifth inning as Brendan Ryan and Albert Pujols both hit solo shots. The home run for Pujols was his first since May 14th. Pujols had done 71 at bats without hitting a home run.
There were other hitting stars for St. Louis as Ryan Ludwick had three hits, while driving in a pair of RBI’s. Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker each had two hits and one RBI apiece.
The Cardinals are now in the Windy City where they will start a weekend series with the rival Chicago Cubs. Chris Carpenter will get the start in game one tomorrow afternoon against Chicago’s Randy Wells.
First pitch is 1:20.