Winn, Gray spark Cardinals to win over Padres for series split

Masyn Winn hit a solo homer 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 in the 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 the 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 three previous starts, checked 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 MLB-leading 41st save in 44 opportunities by pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.

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 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 last 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.”

St. Louis added a run in the ninth. Lars Nootbaar led off with a triple and scored when Herrera singled.

TRAINING ROOM

Padres: SS 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.

Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (lower back stiffness) struck out three batters and gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks over three innings in his last rehab start for Triple-A Memphis. He could rejoin the Cardinals next week in Milwaukee.

UP NEXT

Padres: TBA vs. Rays RHP Taj Bradley in Tampa. In his last start against the Dodgers, Bradley allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits over six innings while striking out five.

Cardinals: RHP Erick Fedde (8-7, 3.31) vs. Yankees RHP Marcus Stroman (9-6, 3.88) in New York. 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. In his last start, Stroman allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over five innings to earn the win over the Rockies.

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