Padres ride newfound depth and strong Cease outing to take series from Cardinals
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The San Diego Padres took on the St. Louis Cardinals for the final game of their three-game series.
Dylan Cease took the mound for the Padres, while Andre Pallante started for the Cardinals. San Diego secured both the series and the game, thanks in part to strong performances from the bottom of the lineup.
Cease, who many expected to be traded at this year’s deadline, entered the game with a 4.76 ERA through 119 innings pitched. His stuff has remained elite, though inconsistency has plagued his season.
Pallante entered the game with a 4.62 ERA through 117 innings. He has been a reliable arm for St. Louis throughout the year.
In the first inning, both teams put traffic on the bases but failed to capitalize, and the inning ended scoreless. Luis Arraez extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games in the frame.
The Padres stranded multiple runners in scoring position during the first three innings, but that changed in the bottom of the fourth. Ramón Laureano singled on a groundball to third base, and Jake Cronenworth followed by launching a two-run home run—his ninth of the season—to deep right-center field to open the scoring.
Cease finished his excellent outing with five scoreless innings, allowing one walk, one hit and striking out nine.
Pallante completed five innings, surrendering five hits, walking three and striking out four. Aside from the home run to Cronenworth, he navigated traffic effectively.
Jason Adam replaced Cease in the sixth inning, marking a new role for the right-hander. Adam, a recent bullpen addition, gives manager Mike Shildt more flexibility. He delivered a clean inning, retiring all three batters he faced.
Jeremiah Estrada followed in the seventh, striking out all three batters he faced on just 10 pitches. Estrada’s fastball hit 100 mph, and Cardinal’s hitters had no answers.
In the bottom of the seventh, Jackson Merrill broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple down the right-field line, pushing the Padres’ lead to five. Xander Bogaerts then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Merrill and making it 6-0.
David Morgan pitched the eighth. The hard-throwing right-hander has quietly put together an impressive season, entering with a 1.93 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 28 innings. He struck out three in a scoreless frame, allowing no hits and one walk.
Ramón Laureano goes the other way with his first @Padres homer! pic.twitter.com/kOlGJLxAYM
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2025
In the bottom of the eighth, Laureano hit his first home run in a Padres uniform—a solo shot to deep right field, his 16th of the season. The revamped bottom third of the lineup has paid dividends since the trade deadline. Laureano and Cronenworth each homered, while Freddy Fermin reached base three times.
Adrián Morejon struggled in the ninth, failing to record an out. He allowed four hits, one walk and two earned runs, leaving the bases loaded for Robert Suarez. Suarez managed to escape the jam, allowing only one inherited run to score.
San Diego won 7-3 and took the series two games to one.
Next up, the Padres travel to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks on August 4, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
