The San Diego Padres took advantage of sloppy defense by Willson Contreras and the St. Louis Cardinals and turned the mistakes into a 4-1 win at Petco Park, Friday.
Jake Cronenworth was on first base in the bottom of the fifth inning after a one-out walk. Jose Iglesias hit a ground ball to third base and Nolan Gorman made a throw that glanced off the glove of first baseman Contreras and allowed him to reach safely. Contreras retrieved the ball and threw it away with a throw to third base, allowing
Cronenworth to score to tie the game, 1-1. Iglesias was able to advance to second on the play.
In play, run(s) pic.twitter.com/W7oqu6Pfwx
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) August 2, 2025
Elias Diaz followed with a single to center field that allowed Iglesias to score to give San Diego a 2-1 lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. worked a walk to put runners at first and second and Luis Arraez singled to load the bases.
Manny Machado faced St. Louis reliever Matt Svanson, who came in to replace starter Matthew Liberatore. He struck out for the second out of the inning. Jackson Merrill stepped in and delivered a two-out two-run single that put San Diego in front 4-1. Xander Bogaerts lined out to end the inning, but the four runs were an emphatic response to the run scored by St. Louis in the top of the fifth.
Jackson Merrill has entered the chat. pic.twitter.com/aoJdU9GZXL
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 2, 2025
Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta did not allow a hit until the top of the fifth inning. Contreras hit a solo home run to left center field that gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Willson Contreras - St. Louis Cardinals (15)
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 2, 2025
pic.twitter.com/nVxl9XQTDq
Pivetta completed seven innings and allowed just one run on one hit with five strikeouts and no walks allowed. He turned the ball over to one of the new San Diego roster additions, Mason Miller, in the top of the eighth inning.
Miller allowed back-to-back singles, but then struck out Jordan Walker and induced a ground ball double play off the bat of Yohel Pozo to complete a scoreless inning in his first appearance as a member of the Padres.
STRAIGHT GAS from Mason Miller for his first @Padres strikeout!
— MLB (@MLB) August 2, 2025
103 MPH! ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/8Z3g5BgO6H
Robert Suarez came on in the top of the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff single to Victor Scott II. He then got a fly out from Brendan Donovan and a ground ball double play from Ivan Herrera to seal the win and get the save.
Padres win game one vs. St. Louis! pic.twitter.com/KUMOXkHuyI
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) August 2, 2025
The Padres host the Cardinals for the second game of their series, Saturday at 7:10 p.m.
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