The St. Louis Cardinals broke open a pitcher’s duel Saturday night with a six-run sixth inning to support right-hander Andre Pallante in a 7-0 victory against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and Blaze Jordan all had key hits for the Cardinals, who came in having dropped seven of nine.
Pallante (11-6) allowed two hits in seven innings. He finished with eight strikeouts, tying his season high for the sixth time, and was just one strikeout shy of his career best. Pallante also retired his final 12 batters, and walked just one overall. He lowered his ERA to 3.77 in what likely was his best start of the season.
The Cardinals scored an unearned run against Reds right-hander Hunter Greene in the bottom of the first inning, but poured it on in the sixth, which was Greene’s third time through the lineup.
JJ Wetherholt walked to lead off and Burleson lined a single to right. Herrera followed with a two-run double to left making it 3-0.
Bryan Torres later hit an RBI single and Jordan followed with two-run single to right on a two-strike count to make it 6-0, prompting Reds manager Terry Francona to remove Greene (2-2).
Nathan Church followed with a safety squeeze against left-hander Sam Moll to push across Torres as the seventh run.
Unable to keep the Reds’ three-game winning streak going, Greene’s era ballooned to 7.06 in his fourth start of the season.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz made three fielding miscues in the first inning, booting a soft grounder for an error, getting his feet tangled on a pop-up single, and making a poor relay throw to the plate on Burleson’s RBI single.
Burleson finished with three hits, and Wetherholt scored twice, helping the Cardinals improve to 13-2 when he scores at least two runs.
The Reds did not mount a scoring threat until the ninth, against Cardinals right-hander Gordon Graceffo, who loaded the bases with no outs after pitching a scoreless eighth. A strikeout and a double play followed.
The Cardinals have won five of seven from the Reds in the season series, which continues Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
