ST. LOUIS—Masyn Winn hit a solo home run, while Sonny Gray threw six strong innings in leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4–1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday to earn a split of the teams’ four-game series.
“I just go out there and try to have a good time and whatever happens, happens,” Winn said. “I’ve been through some ups and downs this year. I just keep working.”
Winn, a rookie, scored the game-winning run Wednesday after he hit a two-out single to start a ninth-inning rally. In the four games against San Diego, Winn produced nine hits in 17 at-bats.
“He continues to take impressive at-bats,” St. Louis Manager Oliver Marmol said. “It’s like he can almost do whatever he wants. It’s been fun to watch him. He continues to grow.”
Iván Herrera and rookie Victor Scott II each added two hits for St. Louis. Scott recorded his first career bunt single.
“My confidence is up,“ Scott said. ”It’s always fun to have success and see success on the field.”
Gray (12–9), who had lost his previous three starts, limited the Padres to three hits and a run, with no walks.
“I felt good. I was throwing strikes,” Gray said. “I was trying to mix my pitches.”
Ryan Helsley earned his major league-leading 41st save in 44 opportunities by pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.
San Diego’s Michael King (11–8) pitched 4 1/3 innings before leaving with the bases loaded. He allowed two runs on six hits and four walks.
“I went too deep into the counts,” King said.
St. Louis struck for two unearned runs in the third. A walk to Alec Burleson and a two-base error by Padres shortstop Tyler Wade on a grounder by Nolan Arenado set the table. Luken Baker grounded out, scoring Burleson. With two outs, Paul Goldschmidt doubled home Arenado.
The Padres, who had just three hits, made it 2–1 in the fifth when rookie Jackson Merrill led off with a first-pitch, 419-foot homer to center field. Gray has allowed a home run in eight of his past 10 starts.
“You don’t have to win to have heart,” San Diego Manager Mike Shildt said. “These guys give everything they have. Their guys threw the ball pretty well. I love how the guys went about things this whole series. If there’s a consolation prize, they battled their tails off every day. We had some opportunities. We just couldn’t cash in.”
The Cardinals extended their lead to 3–1 when Winn hit a one-out home run off Yuki Matsui in the sixth.
“He’s fun to watch,” Gray said about Winn. “He’s fun to play with. He’s fun to be around on the field, off the field, and in the locker room.”
Trainer’s Room
Padres: Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (right-shoulder inflammation) has been playing catch and taking ground balls during the series in St. Louis. He hasn’t fielded balls and thrown from the shortstop position yet.Up Next
Padres: San Diego had not announced a starter for Friday’s game at Tampa Bay.Cardinals: Right-hander Erick Fedde (8–7, 3.31 earned-run average) is set to start Friday at New York against Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman (9–6, 3.88). Fedde will be making his fourth career start against the Yankees, but his first since the 2020 COVID-19 season when he faced them in Washington, D.C.
