The St. Louis Cardinals, with a record of 3-4, faced off against the San Diego Padres, who held a slightly better record at 4-5. In a closely contested game that saw both teams fighting for every run, the final score read 3-2 in favor of the home team at PETCO Park.

Apr 3, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Zack Thompson (57) throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals' offense struggled to find its rhythm early on but managed to gather six hits throughout the game. Despite their efforts, they only converted these into two runs. The fourth inning marked a change in momentum when St. Louis broke through with three hits and secured their first run of the game. However, this surge was short-lived as they were unable to maintain consistent offensive pressure.

St. Louis's pitching staff had moments of effectiveness but ultimately conceded three runs over eight innings pitched – an earned run average (ERA) of 3.375 for the game – while striking out ten batters and giving up seven hits to Padres hitters.

Apr 3, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (7) hits a foul ball against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

A critical moment came in the eighth inning when an error by San Diego allowed St. Louis to add another run to their tally, bringing them within one run of tying the game. Unfortunately for Cardinals fans, that would be as close as their team would get.

On defense, St. Louis played error-free baseball and displayed solid fielding with a perfect fielding percentage (FPCT) throughout nine innings.

Apr 3, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Zack Thompson (57) throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

Looking at individual performances from The Cardinals' lineup; despite being limited offensively overall with an average (AVG) of .214 and on-base plus slugging (OPS) standing at .639, they showed discipline at bat by drawing four walks and getting hit by pitch four times which contributed to an on-base percentage (OBP) of .389.

The bullpen pitchers from The Cardinals provided some stability late in the game by not allowing any runs during their time on mound which spanned three innings – showcasing an ERA of 0.0 during that stretch.

As for The Padres' side; Joe Musgrove earned his first win while Zack Thompson was tagged with his second loss despite The Cardinals bullpen holding strong against further scoring threats from San Diego's lineup.

Cardinals fans can look forward to seeing if their team can bounce back in their next matchup scheduled for April 4th against Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium in St. Louis MO where they will play host this time around; fans can catch this action live on BSFL network starting at 8:15 PM local time.

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