Michael McGreevy became the latest starter for the St Louis Cardinals done in by early runs, as the San Diego Padres split the four-game series with a 9-2 win Sunday, July 27 at Busch Stadium.

McGreevy was tagged with seven runs in his 4.2 innings, including two before the first out. Manny Machado doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr and Luis Arraez, aided by a throwing error by Victor Scott II. The Padres added a groundout RBI in the third, then four runs in the fourth with a sacrifice bunt, single, and double. Alec Burleson prevented the shutout in the sixth when he sent a two-run home run to center field. San Diego claimed those two runs back with a solo home run in the seventh by Xander Bogaerts and single in the eighth from Jackson Merrill. The Padres outhit the Cardinals 16-6 while going six-for-19 with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals were able to turn a pair of double plays.

The loss leaves St Louis (54-53) where they started over the weekend: 3.5 games behind San Diego for the third wild card spot. They’re also nine games behind Chicago and Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Cardinals will host Miami for the start of a three-game series Monday evening, with Andre Pallante taking the bump. First pitch is at 6:45 p.m.