An electric atmosphere in San Diego on Friday night saw Michael McGreevy deliver a brilliant start and JJ Wetherholt notch a “Little League grand slam,” leading the St. Louis Cardinals to another win over the San Diego Padres.
It would be tempting to draw overreactions from the game. One takeaway is that McGreevy is emerging as the Cardinals’ ace. He kept the Padres hitless until Jackson Merrill singled in the bottom of the fourth inning. While it might be too soon to label the Cardinals a team of destiny, the top of the fifth inning offered another promising sign.
Through the first four frames, Ivan Herrera was the only Cardinal to record a hit—he finished with four on the night. The real threat came in the fifth. Masyn Winn led off with a single, and Nathan Church reached on an infield single, moving Winn to second. After Prieto struck out, Victor Scott II drew a walk to load the bases. That brought up Wetherholt, who delivered in typical fashion. On the third pitch of his at-bat, he ripped a single to right field that slipped under Fernando Tatis Jr.’s glove.
Officially, it was a single and a three-base, three-run error. For everyone watching, it was a Little League grand slam that gave St. Louis a 4-0 lead.
The Cardinals weren’t finished. Herrera snuck another single between third and short, followed by a double down the left-field line from Alec Burleson that advanced Herrera to third. Jordan Walker drew a four-pitch walk to reload the bases, and Nolan Gorman singled to score Herrera, making it 5-0. Masyn Winn then added a sacrifice fly to bring home Burleson, pushing the lead to 6-0.
The real story, however, was Michael McGreevy. Over six innings, he allowed just one hit and no runs, striking out nine while walking only two. He stifled any Padres momentum, and while the offense grabbed headlines, his performance deserved a standing ovation.
Gordon Graceffo tossed a solid inning of relief in the seventh and also worked a clean eighth, allowing no baserunners—a nice bounce-back from his previous outing. Ryne Stanek closed out the Padres in the ninth without drama, giving Riley O’Brien a night off. Collectively, Cardinals pitchers threw a one-hit shutout.
The series continues Saturday night at Petco Park, with Dustin May starting for St. Louis against Randy Vásquez of the Padres. First pitch is set for 6:15 p.m. Central time, with the game broadcast on Fox.
