St. Louis Cardinals starter Andre Pallante bounced back from a poor performance in a previous outing, but a strong performance on the mound Monday night versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road was still not enough for him to secure his first win this July.
The lack of run support and the Cards bullpen surrendering a run late versus the Pirates held St. Louis back from extending their two-game win streak, as St. Louis fell prey to their National League Central division rivals, 2-1.
Cardinals reliever John King gave up the game-winning run in the eighth inning when he allowed Bryan Reynolds to score on an RBI single by Nick Gonzales.
After the game, Pallante praised Pirates starter Mitch Keller and refused to put blame on the Cardinals' bullpen. Instead, Pallante showed his full support for St. Louis' relievers.
“[Mitch] Keller did a great job tonight. I'm just trying to compete with him as best I can. … Especially in a 1-1 game, someone's got to give right? Our bullpen's been great, and they'll continue to be great,” Pallante said in the locker room following the Cardinals' second loss since the MLB All-Star break (h/t Bally Sports Midwest).
Despite King's struggles against the Pirates, he and the Cardinals bullpen rate as among the top ones in the big leagues. For one, St. Louis' relievers are fourth and 10th in the MLB this season with a 3.45 ERA and 3.74 FIP, respectively, per FanGraphs.
Pallante left the mound against the Pirates after six innings, allowing just an earned run on three hits with two free passes issued and three strikeouts.
It was his second no-decision in three starts this July where he's posted a 2.79 ERA through 19.1 innings of work on the hill. Before his starting duty versus Pittsburgh, Pallante got tagged for four earned runs on six hits through 6.1 innings of a 6-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals last Wednesday at home.
The 25-year-old Pallante will get another shot at picking up a pitching win before July ends, as he hopes to further lower his season ERA. Pallante finished June with a 4.50 ERA but has lowered that to 3.92 thanks to a couple of strong starts in July — both against the Pirates.
On July 4, Pallante, who signed a one-year deal worth $756,900 with the Cards last May, picked up a no-decision despite giving up just an earned run on four hits with five strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Pirates.
Cardinals take a step back in pursuit of top spot in the NL Central division
With their loss in the opener of the Pirates series at PNC Park, the Cardinals dropped to 52-48. Although the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers lost on Monday to the Chicago Cubs, the Pirates' victory put Pittsburgh just a game behind the Cards for the No. 2 spot in the NL Central standings.
“That's why every decision, every pitch, every at-bat seems extremely magnified,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol stated after the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
“Because there is no room for error. The margins have been really thin all year. We've played a lot of these games, like the one we played tonight. Yeah, one ball in the dirt leads to the runner moving up and it just changes the game a little bit.”
The Cardinals will look to even the series up against Pittsburgh when they give the ball this Tuesday to veteran Lance Lynn, who is on schedule to have a duel with rookie sensation Paul Skenes.
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