Starting pitching woes struck again Saturday, Aug. 9 at Busch Stadium in St Louis, as Cardinals starter Andre Pallante couldn’t make it out of the second inning in a 9-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Despite the Cardinals committing throwing errors in each of the first two innings, all six runs given up by Pallante were earned, including singles in the first to Kyle Tucker and Carson Kelly, followed by a three-run home run by Michael Busch and another RBI single by Kelly in the second. Pallante was tagged with seven hits and one walk in just 1.2 innings. Gordon Graceffo also struggled in relief, allowing another two runs on four hits and a walk in 2.1, while Ryan Fernandez gave up a solo home run to Matt Shaw in the fifth.

The only run for the Cardinals came by way of a grounder by Alec Burleson to score Lars Nootbaar. The Cardinals struck out ten times and hit into a double play, leaving nine on base. Colin Rea went six innings for the Cubs, claiming his ninth win by way of six strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits and two walks.

The Cardinals (59-59) are once again at .500, trailing Milwaukee by 14 games in the NL Central. They’ll have tonight’s featured Sunday Night game, sending Sonny Gray to the mound against the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m.