By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardianals got a spark from two rookies as JJ Wetherholt and Nathan Church each had two hits, propelling the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
Andre Pallante, who improved to 9-4 earning the win, allowed six hits and one run in six innings of work while striking out two batters. Pallante has now earned wins in his last four starts and has given up two runs or less in five of his last six outings which St. Louis has won all five of those games. Riley O'Brien, the fifth Cardinals pitcher, notched his 19th save in 23 opportunities by working the ninth inning.
St. Louis took the lead in the third inning on a one-out infield single by Alec Burleson that drove in Church after he singled to lead off the inning. The Cardinals extended their lead with a two-run fourth after Blaze Jordan’s sacrifice fly to deep center scored Jimmy Crooks, who reached on a groundout, and Church followed with a run-scoring single to shallow center, driving in Masyn Winn who singled, giving St. Louis a 3-0 lead.
It was the first appearance at Busch Stadium since an offseason trade for former Cardinal Nolan Arenado. Arenado played five seasons with the Cardinals and many fans gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat in the second inning, where he singled to left. Then in the sixth inning, Arenado drove in a run with a groundout, cutting St. Louis' lead to 3-1.
Tommy Troy's seventh inning home run off reliever Ryne Stanek, who was making his 500th career appearance, gave the Diamondbacks their second and final run of the game. Stanek is one of 13 active pitchers with 500 games under his belt.
At the plate, Wetherholt was 2-for-4 while Church was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, also stealing a base. Burleson was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. Iván Herrera was 1-for-3 also with a walk.
Up next, St. Louis and Arizona will continue their series tomorrow. Kyle Leahy (5-4, 4.63 ERA, 59K's) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Eduardo Rodriguez (6-2,2.45 ERA, 65K's) for the Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 6:45pm, coverage begins at 6:35 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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