Cardinals drop rubber match with Tigers, lose first series of month
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Cardinals have fallen one win short of toppling the owners of Major League Baseball's best record.
St. Louis (27-23) recorded just five hits against Detroit (33-17) in Wednesday's series finale, leading to a 5-1 loss at Busch Stadium. Despite the loss, the Redbirds have still won 13 of their last 17 games.
After the Tigers scored three unanswered runs to start the game, Willson Contreras delivered the only RBI hit of the afternoon for the Cardinals in the sixth inning to cut the team's deficit to just two runs. However, Detroit never lost its grip on the lead, adding two more insurance runs in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly from Trey Sweeney and an RBI single from Javier Baez.
While Detroit maximized its seven hits in this contest, St. Louis did the opposite. The Redbirds stranded five baserunners and finished just 1-for-6 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
Alec Burleson posted the team's only multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4 at the dish with two singles. Contreras, Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott II rounded out the five-hit effort.
Andre Pallante was charged with the loss, pitching 5.2 innings and giving up three runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Up next - The Cardinals close out their current six-game homestand with a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch of Friday's series opener is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
