By MATT PIKE
JJ Wetherholt hit a Little League grand slam and Michael McGreevy threw a career-high nine strikeouts as the St. Louis Cardinals shutout the San Diego Padres 6-0 at PNC Park.
Wetherholt hit an RBI single in the fifth inning to right field with the bases loaded. Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. overran the ground ball and it rolled under his glove all the way to the wall. Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, and Victor Scott II all scored before Weterholt came racing around to cross home plate to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. It was a three-run error for Tatis Jr. and his first error of the season.
St. Louis scored all six of their runs in the inning as later in the fifth, with the bases loaded again off reliever Yuki Matsui, Nolan Gorman hit an RBI single to drive in Iván Herrera and keep the bases loaded, before Alec Burleson scored the final run needed on a sacrifice fly by Winn.
McGreevy earned the win, improving to 3-2 on the season, pitching six innings, giving up a single hit to Jackson Merrill in the fourth, and walking two while recording the nine strikeouts. Relievers Gordon Graceffo and Ryne Stanek did not give up a hit over the final three innings.
At the plate, Herrera led the way going 4-for-5. Burleson was 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Gorman was 1-for-4 and Winn was 1-for-3, bot recording an RBI. Wetherholt was 1-for-5 with two RBIs.
Next, St. Louis and San Diego continue their series with game three on Saturday, the Redbirds looking to secure a series victory. Dustin May (3-3, 5.15 ERA, 25K's) starts for the Cardinals opposite Randy Vasquez (3-1, 3.20 ERA, 36K's) for the Padres. First pitch is at 6:15pm, pregame will air at 6:05 on KY 102 (102.5FM).
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