The St Louis Cardinals were most comfortable at home Thursday, July 24, plating six runs in the second inning, en route to a 9-7 win at Busch Stadium over the San Diego Padres.

The Padres struck first when Luis Arraez doubled home Fernando Tatis Jr, then came home on Jackson Merrill’s single. The Cardinals recorded their first run in the first with a Willson Contreras double to left field that scored Brendan Donovan. Donovan and Contreras would provide the six-run Redbird rally in the second, with each of the hitting three-run home runs.

The Padres, holders of the third wild card spot, would not go away quietly, as Tatis and Manny Machado had home runs in the third to make the score 7-5. Iván Herrera provided the game-winning RBI in the fourth with a line-drive single to center, scoring Victor Scott II. The Padres added their final two runs in the fifth with a groundout and fielding error, while Herrera added a solo home run in the sixth.

Donovan and Herrera each had three hits for the Cardinals, helping Sonny Gray earn his tenth win of the season. Gray struck out five in his five innings, allowing all seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits. Ryan Helsley recorded his 20th save of the season.

The Cardinals are now 53-51, 2.5 games behind the Padres in the wild card chase, while trailing Milwaukee by nine games in the NL Central. Game two of the four-game series against San Diego is Friday at 6:15 p.m., with Miles Mikolas getting the start.

The Kansas City Royals were off Thursday, ahead of a three-game home series against Cleveland. The Royals are a game-and-a-half behind Cleveland for second in the AL Central, with the gap to Detroit closing to 9.5 games. Michael Wacha will get the start for KC, with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9.