ERRORS LEAD TO BIG LOSS FOR PADRES AGAINST CARDS

By Liz Alper

Photo courtesy @Padres on Twitter

July 18, 2016 (St. Louis) - The Padres started their long road trip tonight, starting in St. Louis to face the Cardinals.  Christian Friedrich got the start for San Diego against Mike Leake for the redbirds.

It was a pitcher’s duel until the fourth when Matt Kemp, who’s put some impressive numbers lately, knocked a solo homer out of the park for a 1-0 Padres lead.  The Padres now have home runs in 16 straight games, a franchise record.

But the Padres blew it in the fifth when Matt Holliday doubled.  The throw to the plate went past Derek Norris, allowing the tying run and another run to score and the redbirds took a 2-1 lead.

In the sixth, Matt Adams continued the scoring for the Cards with a beautiful hit to center field that scored two and gave him a double and the Cardinals led 4-1.  Aledmys Diaz tripled and scored Adams and the Cards went up 5-1.  Stephen Piscotty added one more on a single and the score was 6-1.

The Padres got some reprieve in the seventh with Alexi Amarista’s sac groundout that scored Ryan Schimpf to cut the lead to 6-2.

But the Cardinals put the nail in the coffin in their half of the seventh with Randal Grichuk’s two-run blast and the Cards led 8-2.  Former Padre Jedd Gyorko, whose new hobby is torturing his old team, hit another bomb  right after Grichuk’s and the redbird lead was 9-2.

Piscotty launched another blast in the eighth, this time to the second deck at Busch Stadium and the Cardinals took game one all the way home 10-2.

Game two is tomorrow.  It too will be at 5:15 p.m.  Colin Rea will start for San Diego against Carlos Martinez for St. Louis.

Transaction News:

• Padres reinstate Melvin Upton Jr. from bereavement list

• Padres added Brett Wallace to paternity list