Joey Lucchesi pitched into the eighth inning, allowing only four hits and striking out eight, leading the San Diego Padres to their first victory in six tries against St. Louis, a 3-2 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
Lucchesi (3-2) gave way to Kirby Yates with two outs in the eighth, and the Padres closer recorded the final four outs to pick up his ninth save. San Diego (16-20) won for just the third time in 11 games.
The Padres broke on top in the third inning on RBI singles by Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Wil Myers off Cardinals starter and loser Adam Wainwright. Dexter Fowler homered in the bottom of the third to make it a 2-1 game.
But Lucchsei, retiring 12 in a row at one point, kept St. Louis in check. San Diego added a run in the sixth on a fielders-choice ground ball by Austin Hedges. Yadier Molina doubled to break the spell off Lucchesi in the eighth, and eventually scored on a passed ball. But the Cardinals could get no closer against Yates in the ninth.
