The St Louis Cardinals loaded the bases by way of a dropped third strike with two outs in the ninth, but they were unable to capitalize, falling 4-2 to the San Diego Padres on Saturday, May 9 at Petco Park.

Closer Mason Miller had gotten Masyn Winn and Thomas Saggese to strike out, but in the process allowed walks to Freddy Fermin and Nathan Church. Yohel Pozo struck out swinging, but the pitch got away from the Padres battery, allowing him to get on base and the other runners to advance. Miller then faced JJ Wetherholt, and caught him looking to record the inning’s fourth strikeout and close out the game.

The Cardinals had scored first in the fourth inning, when Nathan Church delivered a line-drive double that scored Jordan Walker. The Padres tied it on a Ty France home run in the fifth, then added two more when after a walk and single, Fernando Tatis Jr blooped a single to right field to score the two runners. Manny Machado added his sixth home run of the year with his solo shot in the eighth.

The Cardinals had ample opportunities to score, outhitting the Padres 7-5 but stranding eight on base. Padres pitching had 12 strikeouts, including six by winning pitcher Randy Vásquez. He allowed one run on six hits over five innings. Miller recorded his 12th save of the season to continue leading the league. Dustin May went six innings in the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out seven.

St Louis remain 3.5 back of Chicago in the NL Central, as the Cubs’ 10-game winning streak was snapped. The Cardinals will look to claim the series win Sunday afternoon when Kyle Leahy takes the bump against Walker Buehler. First pitch is at 3:10 p.m.